Kyodai ai no Dai Tenshi
by LDSAuthor2013
Summary: Shiki and his friends are just your average, regular teens...at least, that's what they were, up until the angel Gabriel appeared to them and awakened the powers of the Five Archangels within them. Now, they hunt Demons, keep the Gateways to Hell sealed, and prepare for the impending doom of the Apocalypse. Welcome to the age of the Brotherhood Archangel!
1. Prolog: The Brotherhood

**Prolog: The Brotherhood**

**March 10th, 2018**

A cold chill runs through me as I sit on the back of my motorcycle, staring up at the night sky. The beginning of March—not cold enough for snow anymore, but definitely not warm enough to go out in just a t-shirt and shorts. Even the black leather jacket I'm wearing doesn't offer much protection against the last few bites that winter has in store. Holding back a shiver, I zip the rest of my jacket up, and bring my hands to my face, breathing life into the cold joints.

The night is still; it's just me and the flickering lampposts around me. It's well past midnight now, so if anyone _were_ out on the streets, at this time of the night, I would be more than a bit surprised. These dusty, darkened streets are silent and still, with not a single soul in sight. It's not really 'peaceful'; nothing is ever at peace. But the solemn, somber breathing of the night, while all the world is lost in its dreams, is just a wonder that few get to behold. Though, the cold does take away from it a bit.

Sighing, I close my eyes and flop my body forward, over the handlebars of my bike. Why was I even out here, at this dreadful time of the night? My nights are mostly spent at Hayate's bar, singing with my band for the entertainment of Hayate's customers. If I'm not there, then I'm over at Katsuo's house, playing _Generation X_, or some other post-apocalyptic, first-person shooter game, with the rest of our gang. Honestly, why would I even _want_ to waste such a perfect night like this one by sitting on my motorcycle, in the middle of the road, and in the middle of the night?

_SHHHRRRAAAAAAYYYYAAAAHHHH!_

My answer comes in the form of a sharp shriek, coming from several dozen meters behind me. Instantly I snap up from my former position of hanging over the handlebars and smirk, a fire burning in my eyes. "Well it's about time," I announce, turning back on my bike as I start the engine. "I was starting to think you weren't gonna show, you big, ugly son of a bitch!"

The 'thing' behind me shrieks again, louder, and bursts out of an alleyway further down the road. I smirk as I get a good look at my opponent; twelve feet tall, probably weighing in at six-hundred pounds, and filled with pure, unadulterated rage. Its body is anthro-reptilian, with thick, pale-yellow scales covering its body and coming up to jagged edges on its shoulders, arms, and legs. Atop a thick, stout neck sits its head, shaped like a Komodo Dragon's, but with ram-like horns sprouting from its temples, and a beard of short spikes growing from its chin. Its back is covered in a coarse black fur, that I can tell even from where I'm at hasn't been cleaned in years, and similar fur grows around its wrists and ankles. Finally, molting and broken raven-like wings flop to either side of its body, with a long scorpion-like tail swishing behind them menacingly.

I smirk back at the beast as it hisses angrily again, and cup my hand around my mouth. "Hey ugly!" I shout, smirking, "You want me? Then come and get me!" Laughing, I slam my hand down on the gas and belt out, down the street. The beast roars, livid with anger, and soon the sound of his feet slamming into the ground as he charges after me reach my ears. Smirking, I lift my hand to my ear and send out a call.

"Hey, guys! Big boy's taken the bait, coming up right behind me on Twentieth!" There's a beep from the other end as I say this, and soon Hiroto's voice picks up on my headset.

"_Nice job, Shiki! Lure him down to the Ten'nohashira Building at the intersection of Seventy-Fifth and Thirtieth! We'll be there to take care of him!_" I nod at his instructions and rev my bike up some more, aiming for the next right turn.

"_So what are we dealing with, Boss?_" Katsuo asks through the headpiece.

"It looks like we've got a Rampage on our list right now, guys," I reply, leaning in as I take the next turn and shoot down Sixty-Ninth Street. The Rampage behind me shrieks again, and I hear its claws scrape across the asphalt as it rounds the corner after me. There's a sigh on the other end, and I recognize it instantly as Reigin's.

"_Seriously? Another Rampage? Wrath must really be trying hard to take Japan, this is the fifth one of his cronies that he's sent here, and we've had to squash!_"

"_It would explain why there has been so much gang-related violence around here, though,_" Takuma replies, and I can almost hear his calm smirk on the other end. "_Hopefully, once the last of these Demons is taken care of, the streets will be a bit more peaceful._"

"_We'll ponder over that later, Professor,_" Hiroto shouts, "_For now, let's ice this Demon!_"

"Sounds like my kind of plan," I reply, hitting the gas again and turning left at the next intersection and onto Thirtieth Street. The Rampage behind me bellows again, the rage in its call dripping down onto me. I smirk back at the beast and cup my hand around my mouth again. "Come on ugly! Is that the best that you can—"

_SHHHHEEEERRRAAAYYYAAAAAHHHH!_

"—do?" I finish, the words coming out softer and weaker than before. The Demon howls again, its claws digging into the ground as it leaps forward, blood-red eyes flashing menacingly. Instantly the two broken, molted wings on either side of its body snap out, the tips grazing over the ground. Bellowing, the beast leans forward and tucks its head in, quickly gaining more and more speed. _Shit_, I think, turning back to the handlebars and pumping the gas again, _I think that might've worked a little too well!_

Grimacing, I look up the street as signs flash past me. Just up ahead is Seventy-Fifth Street, and right on the corner, standing as tall and proud as ever, is the Ten'nohashira Building. All the lights are blazing within it, making it look like some enormous pillar or beacon in the middle of a foggy night. I frown as I grow nearer, and look up at the tops of the buildings, looking for the others. "Come on guys!" I mutter, "Let's move, come on!"

I can hear the Demon's breathing now, its dry, raspy panting as it continues to gain on me. Grimacing, I lean into my motorcycle, pull myself into my bike as much as possible, and keep my eyes trained on the towering building just ahead of me. "Come on," I mutter under my breath, "Just a little bit further!"

_SHHHHHYEEEAAAARRAAAAARRRR!_

The next few seconds happen in a blur. The Demon, only about half a meter away from by back wheel, snaps its arm out in a violent lunge. Instantly the bike spun out of control, the back wheel broken. I don't even have time to shout for help before the bike skids into the road again and begins rolling over the rough asphalt, with me barely hanging on. I grimace and let go of my ride, tossing myself away from the wrecked bike as it slams into a lamppost. I tumble away from the wreck, groaning to a stop on the sidewalk just under the Ten'nohashira Building.

Moaning, I push myself back up onto my feet, throwing my left arm across my chest. I can't feel my right arm, can't even twitch my fingertips; probably broke it again. My chest is heaving, I feel like someone drove a semi over me, so I probably broke some of my ribs. It's a wonder I'm not bleeding a huge stream of blood, and not just this little trickle down my right arm. Grimacing, I look over at the mangled mess that was my motorcycle. The machine is warped and wrapped around the lamppost, the front wheel still slowly spinning. _Well, no saving that one,_ I think bitterly. _Looks like I'm gonna need to buy a new bike…again…_

Slowly, I turn back to the Rampage. The yellowy Demon grins a cruel smirk at me, letting its wings flop back onto the pavement. It slowly steps towards me, clenching and releasing its fists in anticipation of tearing its prey apart. I scowl at its smirk and stagger back, quickly looking around at the rooftops of the buildings around me once again. "Aw, come on guys! Give me some help here!"

My plea goes unanswered, and the Rampage gives me another eerie grin. The beast pulls its cracked and scarred right arm back, and already I can feel the pain the attack will bring. Scowling again, I clench my eyes shut and wait for it to be over.

"**Bind Arrow!**"

My eyes snap open again, and I can't hold back the grin on my face as the Demon's vicious attack is stopped before it can even begin. From somewhere up above, an arrow made completely out of pure white light soars down on the Rampage, sinking down into its shoulder. Instantly, the shaft of the arrow flashes brightly, releasing dozens of thick chains and cords that wrapped around the Demon's body, arms, and legs, before sinking into the ground at odd angles, like support lines for a circus tent. The Demon's eyes widen in surprise, and the beast bellows again as it struggles against its binds. The chains jangle and shake, but despite the Rampage's efforts, the bindings stay rooted in the ground.

"Heh," I smirk, leaping back from the struggling Demon. "Nice timing, Hiroto!"

"_Well, I try, Shiki,_" my blonde-haired friend says, flipping off of the top of the Ten'nohashira Building and landing softly right beside me. Smirking, he lifts the large, white sniper crossbow he's using, and notches another arrow of light. "Sorry if I took too long. Needed to wait until I could get a clear shot."

"A clear shot?" I challenged, frowning. "The street's wide open, man! You had a clear shot the entire time!"

Hiroto shrugs and turns away. "I wanted to be sure, Shiki," he replies, his arms flashing as the two white gauntlets protecting his arms re-absorb the crossbow of light he had been using. "Couldn't let our 'oh so fearless leader' take the plunge yet, could we?"

I scowl at his words and turn back to the still-struggling Demon, the fruitless wrestle it was having with its binds calming me for some reason. "Shut up, you cocky bastard," I groan, lifting a hand to my earpiece. "All right, Takuma, Hiroto's got the Rampage in position. You ready, man?"

"_I've got it all set up, Shiki,_" my indigo-haired friend calls back, and in an instant he appears directly above the Demon, his long, black, locust-mounted staff held gingerly in his black gauntlet armored hands, the locust carved in its head aimed down at the Demon and glowing a menacing purple. "_Just give me the command, and I've got it!_"

Smirking, I nod and pull my left arm back. "Go ahead man, nail it!"

The taller teen smirks back at me and nods. Suddenly, a wispy purple aura surrounds his body, travelling down the length of his arms towards the locust on his staff. A strange, humming sound fills the air, and Takuma's eyes flash for just a second before he pulls back his staff and swings forward.

"**First Plague; Twilight Corruption!**"

Instantly the purple aura around Takuma surges down the length of his staff, washing over the Rampage. The Demon opens its mouth to roar or protest, but it can do nothing as the strange aura swarms into its gaping maw and slithering through. It groans, nearly choking on the strange energy, before falling forward, gasping. I frown at the Demon's actions, and turn over to Takuma, who lands beside me as well, smirking.

"What the hell did you do to it, Takuma?" I ask, nodding my head towards the moaning monster. Takuma smirks and leans forward on his staff, raising a hand to adjust his glasses.

"Combination of Tuberculosis, Swine Flu, and Leukemia. Its bones, internal organs, and muscles should all turn to liquid within the next few moments, rendering it helpless for when we exorcise it and send it back to its cell in Hell, where it rightfully belongs."

My eyebrows quirk upwards, and I scratch the back of my head awkwardly. "Damn, you certainly aren't playing around today, are you, Takuma?" Seeing the indigo-haired senior shrug, I sigh and turn back to the writhing Demon. "_Well, you heard Takuma! This is our chance guys—give it Hell!_"

"_Got it, Boss!_" I hear Katsuo shout through the earpiece, just before flying out of a nearby alleyway. I catch the smirk on the spiky-haired, red-head's face as he thrusts his red gauntlet-covered arms forward, his palms open. "You're gonna be sorry you messed with us, Demon! **Blader's Paradise!**" Bursting through a flash of bright red light, Katsuo lunges forward at the Demon, now carrying two enormous battle axes, and with several dozen more blades flying behind him, like a fleet of fighter jets.

Roaring with excitement, the teen begins spinning like crazy, the enormous blades in his hands carving away at the bound Demon. The floating swords and axes whirl around the Demon with Katsuo, slicing up the beast in a terrible whirlwind of blades. The beast bellows in rage, shaking as hard as it can as it tries to break free of its binds. Katsuo just keeps whirling around him, though, the eager look of battle trained onto his face.

Hiroto smirks over at his red-headed friend and looks over to me. "Katsuo's really going crazy with it, ain't he?" I smirk and nod back, grinning as the shorter teen continues his endless barrage on the Demon.

"How soon until you can exorcise that thing?" Takuma asks, folding his arms as he slips into thought. I shrug at his question and look down at my right arm.

"Dunno…I'd say about a minute longer for the arm to heal. Why?" Takuma frowns, and his eyes narrow at the battle just across from us.

"Because we're seriously going to need that thing gone, now!"

Before I can question him on the urgency of the situation, the Demon shrieks once more, and does something that surprises everyone watching, including Katsuo. The monster pulls its arm back with as much strength as it can muster, breaking the chains on its body as if the bonds were made of paper. Roaring, the Rampage throws its fist forward, aiming the punch right at Katsuo.

"I don't think so!" Katsuo shouts, flinging his arms across his chest in an 'x'. Instantly the axes and swords flash in front of his body, becoming an enormous, bladed shield. The Demon's punch connects with the shield with terrible force, throwing Katsuo back several meters, but the red-head pops up with a smirk, releasing his shield. "Ha, that wasn't so—"

_SHHHHRRRRAAAAYYYYAAAASSSSHHHH!_

The rest of Katsuo's sentence dies beneath the Demon's howl as the beast lunges forward once more. This time, though, Katsuo's not fast enough. His amber eyes grow wide as the enormous fist sails into his chest with a solid 'crunch', and a pained moan slips out of his mouth as he himself goes sailing across the street, tumbling to the ground in a hapless heap.

"What?!" I exclaim, looking to Takuma in shock. "I thought you said your Plague was going to make it so that his body was rendered completely useless in any attack! What happened?"

"Apparently the Rampage has more fight in it than I first thought," Takuma responds, frowning. "This cannot be good."

"You think?" I exclaim again, frowning. Quickly I snap my attention back to the battle, where the Demon is drunkenly charging at the moaning Katsuo. "Reigin, it's up to you, man! Get Katsuo out of there in one piece, and bring that Demon down for good!"

"_Yeah yeah,_" the albino calls back, slowly stepping out of the shadows of an alleyway at the other end of the road, "_you don't need to tell me twice._" Frowning as he stares over at the Demon with his one good eye, the other hidden behind his long white hair, Reigin lifts his right arm, the entire length covered in a pale green armor. There's a small flash of pale green light, and the very next second, Reigin is standing at the end of the road, facing the Demon's back, with an enormous, skeletal scythe gripped loosely in his hands. Sighing, the albino runs his left hand through his hair and glares at the beast.

"Let's get this over with—**Phantom's Encroachment!**"

Reigin's wrist snaps sharply as the words leave his lips, and a bright green wave of light cascades off of his scythe's blade with the sudden, jerking slash. The slash cuts into the road, streaking towards the charging Rampage. Before the Demon can take even one more step, dozens of skeletal limbs tear out of the cut in the ground, snapping up at the beast's legs and skewing its movements. The Demon groans in anger as it stumbles to the ground, and begins to kick at the boney binds. Its efforts are met only with even more limbs breaking out of the ground and pinning its arms, neck, and wings down. Its tail writhes angrily, and the barb on the end starts to draw back in an attack, but even more bones rise up and trap the long appendage against the ground. The beast continues to wrestle against its binds, but the bones simply press tighter down on it. Reigin sighs as the bones settle into binds on the beast, and dissolves his scythe back into his gauntlets.

"There, that should take care of it," he says, frowning over at me. "He's all yours now, Shiki."

I nod back at him and clench both my fists, smirking at the Demon's frightful moans. "Think it's about time to end this," I say, throwing my hands out in front of me. A golden light wraps around both of my arms, and quickly solidifies into two gold and white gauntlets. Another flash of bright, white light surrounds my hands, and instantly I'm carrying an enormous claymore, made completely out of light. My smirk deepens as the Demon's face shatters into a fearful grimace, and it begins to scratch away at the ground and its binds as I step towards it. I pull my sword back, the edge gleaming menacingly, and swing down on it.

"**Halo Slash!**"

* * *

It's hard to believe, looking back now, that our lives weren't always about hunting down Demons, fighting off Fallen Angels, and hanging out with Devils. That we didn't always have access to these amazing powers; the Five Sacred Armors. That we didn't realize just how truly enormous our world is, once you peel back all the layers that lie hidden before our very eyes. That we even had a life before any of this was ever revealed to us.

And yet, six months ago, our lives were just that. We had no clue of the destiny that God had planned for us...or of the torture and torment that Lucifer and his Fallen Angels had ready as well. We didn't know who we really were, or what we were even doing with our lives. We didn't know that we would be spending the next six months of our lives, and onward into the future, training, growing, fighting, until we were ready to fight in the Apocalypse. We didn't know anything about any of that.

Back then, all that seemed to matter was just surviving school, and all the chaos that came with it. Not knowing that chaos of a different kind was waiting for us.

The chaos of the Brotherhood Archangel.


	2. Ch1: Wake Me Up

**Chapter 1: Wake Me Up**

**September 9****th****, 2017**

I will always remember the day my life as a regular teenager came to an end. Like any other day in Kyōkataryō City, as soon as the sun started to rise on the horizon, life began to slowly start up once more within every house and hotel. Front doors slammed open as men and women wearily made their ways to their cars, their bus stops, their workplaces. Car engines roared and hummed to life in driveways and along the curbs, before rolling down the road yet again, taking their drivers where they needed to be. And within almost every house and apartment building, mothers rose, irritation spread upon their faces, as they went about the tedious task of dragging their children to school.

"Shiki!"

Speak of the devil. I groaned as my mom's shout tore into my bedroom and slapped me hard in the ear. Grumbling bitterly, I burrowed deeper into the folds of my pillows and sheets, desperately clinging to the shred of sleep I still had available to me. I had come home late after hanging with Katsuo and the others at his place, and had barely caught a wink of sleep at all. I _needed_ this rest, more than my mom could understand.

"Shiki, did you hear me?" my mom asked again.

"I heard you, Mom!" I shouted back as I glared at my bedroom door. "Just five more minutes, please!"

"Shiki," she called again, agitation clear in her voice, "you don't _have_ five minutes! It's 8:10, you're going to be late for school if you don't get moving this instant!"

My head nearly popped off my shoulders as she said that, and quickly I rounded on my bedside alarm clock. "What?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening as I saw for myself the time, in flashing red numbers. "Shit! I over-slept again! I'm gonna be late!" Instantly, I leapt out of bed, tore across my bedroom, flung my bedroom door open, and bolted across the hall to the bathroom.

I moved as fast as I possibly could, hopping in and out of the shower within the space of just under a minute, the cold water shocking me to my senses. Shaking the water out of my hair, I quickly ran one hand through the brown spikes to 'style' it, and brushed and rinsed my teeth with the other hand. Grimacing at my still-haggard appearance that appeared in the mirror, I shrugged in dismay and bolted back to my bedroom and changed into my school uniform of a white dress shirt, black tie, grey slacks, and matching blazer. The very next second, I sprang out of my bedroom and down the stairs, tie haphazard, shoes a bit loose, and blazer still only half on.

"Shiki! Are you—" my mom started to shout again, but I cut her off as I jumped down the last few steps and landed right beside her. Scowling, I slid my other arm into my sleeve and nodded.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm ready, okay?" Sighing, I grabbed my backpack and frowned again. "You know, most moms would've woken their sons up before it was obvious they were going to be late for school."

"Most moms don't have to deal with you as their son," she stated pointedly, returning to the kitchen part of the living area, "I mean, if Yuzuki-chan's kicking your ass halfway across Kyōkataryō every time you're late doesn't make you wake up on time, I don't know what will. So, I give up."

"What kind of mom gives up on their son just like that?!" I exclaimed, frowning. I sighed and shook my head. "Whatever, I'll see you in about seven hours, 'kay Mom?" Not waiting to hear her reply, I wrenched the front door open and ran out, slamming the door loudly behind me as I started running down the street to school.

It only took me fifteen minutes to reach the high school campus, and as I finally rushed up the steps towards the front doors, I was already tired of school. The struggle to get there alone was enough to drive me insane. And the fact that the tall building seemed to be leering down at me as I stood in its shadow didn't help at all. "I still can't believe I have to go to this place for the rest of this year," I groaned, flinging the doors open and leaping into the building. I sighed as I turned down the main hall and started up the stairs towards my homeroom. "Well," I muttered, crossing the last step, "might as well just grin and bear it for the time being."

I dashed down the hall towards my homeroom as fast as I could. As the open doorway slowly came into my view, my heart leapt in my chest, for joy. Satomi-sensei always closed the classroom door once the late bell rang. "Maybe I'll be able to make it and not be late this time!" I cheered, belting out as much energy as I could as I bounded down towards the classroom door. I was just a little ways away from the door. Just a little bit closer—

_BRIIING!_

I could not believe my luck. Just as I was approaching the classroom's open doorway, the late bell rang out over my head. My heart, previously leaping for joy, now froze in fear. My foot landed in the classroom still, though, and as I brought the rest of my body into the room, several eyes turned toward me, each carrying different expressions. I noticed Takuma sitting in his seat by one of the classroom's windows, giving me a pitying glance, and Hiroto behind him smirking at me, like he knew something that I didn't, while Katsuo grinned at me in his usual, casual way. However, as I nodded back to all of them, I couldn't help but notice the absence of one gaze I'd be getting right now.

"Maybe she's not—" I started, frowning.

"SHIKI!"

The attack came out of nowhere, moving faster than most people could react to. In fact, the only things that managed to save my life in the nick of time were the innate reflexes of a fighter that I had inherited from my dad, and the five years I'd gotten to know my vicious attacker. Even then, it was close. I saw the attack just as it was about to connect, and managed to duck down below it and slide to the side just as the kick passed by where I had been standing. The silver-haired assailant glared at my evasion through rosy pink eyes and quickly landed back into an aggressive stance across from me, before swinging her leg out again, this time at my side. Grimacing, I threw my forearms out, blocking the kick, before pushing her away again and jumping back from her, closer to the back of the classroom. The girl frowned as I tried to retreat and stepped closer to me.

"Shiki, you're late—again! What, are you so dense that you can't get up out of bed on time? Or," she asked, a coy smirk forming on her face, "do you enjoy getting beaten by me every time you're late?"

"Y-Yuzuki-chan," I said, frowning, "that's not it!" The girl's eyes narrowed playfully as I said this, and I felt a lump form in my throat. How was it that I had become so afraid of a girl that was nearly a foot shorter than me?

"Oh? What do you mean by that, Shiki-kun?" she asked, smirking. "Do you mean you're dense, and don't like getting a beating from me? Or, do you mean that you aren't dense, and you do enjoy getting a beating from me?" Her face split in a teasing grin as I glared at her words. "You know, I would've never taken you to be _that_ kind of person, Shiki-kun!"

"Shut up, Yuzuki-chan!" I shouted, leaping at her now. "I was just late for school, that's all, all right? No reason for you to go all sadistic on me!" Yuzuki twitched as I said that, and instantly her attacks became even more furious.

"Did you just call me a sadist?!" she exclaimed, mock anger rising off of her as she exchanged blows with me. "Oh, you are _sooo_ going down now, Shiki-kun!"

"Bring it, midget!"

"Okay, okay," Hiroto said, standing up from his seat and turning to the both of us with his usual cocky grin on his face, "simmer down, you two lovebirds. You can settle the sexual tension between you two later—and hopefully in a less public place than this classroom." Takuma and Katsuo smirked with him, though neither spoke up about their thoughts. Yuzuki and I, though, froze as he said that, and spun at him with bitter glares.

"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE, IDIOT!" we shouted in unison, which only made the blonde-haired boy fling back his head in a crazed laugh, before turning back to us with a sly grin.

"_Sure_ you're not a couple," he said smoothly, slowly stepping away from his chair and turning completely towards us. "You're just two best friends who just so happen to have only ever gone out on dates with each other, have no other friends of the opposite gender than each other, and are always looking out for each other in some way or another. There's _no way_ you two are a couple!"

"There isn't!" Yuzuki insisted, glaring at him wrathfully. Hiroto shrugged with a smug smirk.

"Say what you will, Yuzuki-chan," he chuckled, "just promise me that whenever the two of you finally decide to tie the knot, I get to be the best man, all right?"

"Shut up, Hiroto!" I shouted, lunging at him.

"That's enough!"

Instantly everyone in the classroom, whether they were watching the bout between myself, Yuzuki, and Hiroto, or were just casually talking with their friends, stopped what they were doing with a hop of surprise and quickly jumped back into their seats. Takuma and Katsuo donned looks of fear upon their faces and ducked their heads in, pretending to be innocent and free from the wrath soon to wash over the room. Hiroto, too, leapt up from where he had been standing and slid back into his seat, a nervous grimace on his face now. Yuzuki and I, though, scowled slightly as the voice reached us, and slowly we turned to its owner, who was scowling back at us from the front of the classroom, right next to her desk.

Satomi Shizuka, also known as the 'Ice Queen of Kyōkataryō High', was the dark blue-haired homeroom teacher for most of the seniors at the school. And, as everyone knew, she was one person that no one ever wished to cross. Though she _was_ admittedly very attractive, the wrath she carried was so cold and cruel, no one dared to ever approach her, _ever_. And now, that wrath was aimed right at Yuzuki and me. This could not be good.

"Sakushi-san, Kinikkō-san," she said crisply, frowning, "I would very much like it if you would attempt to keep your volatile disagreements outside of the confinements of my classroom from now on. Do not succeed to accomplish this, and there _will_ be severe consequences, as I'm sure you are aware of." We both nodded, frowning with disinterest. Satomi-sensei didn't seem to notice, though, because she nodded and raised a hand to adjust her glasses. "Very well then. You may all return to your desks then."

Nodding, we both began to walk back to our desks next to Takuma and Hiroto. However, Satomi-sensei gestured to stop me, and I inwardly groaned. "Not you, Kinikkō-san. I have something I would like to talk to you about, this instant."

Grimacing, I nodded and walked up towards the front of the classroom. I caught Yuzuki's cruel, Cheshire Cat-like grin as I passed her, practically screaming 'I told you so'. I only frowned back at her and continued walking up until I reached the teacher's desk. Instantly I felt a very disturbed, anxious tremor slip down my back. Getting punishment from Yuzuki was one thing. Getting it from Satomi-sensei was something _completely_ different. Sighing, I looked down at the ground, and waited for the punishment to be handed down.

Satomi-sensei glared at me and crossed her arms under her chest, the icy aura that always seemed to surround her flaring up brightly now. I was in for one bad lecture. "Kinikkō-san, once again you succeed in disrupting the peace of this classroom by neglecting to get to class on time and getting tangled in conflict with Sakushi-san on account of said negligence. Since school started up again after summer vacation, you have been late to class a total of eight out of ten times. If you keep this up, it could seriously mar your career as a student at this establishment. After all, you are the second most-tardy student in the entire school, the first being—"

It was, at that moment, that the classroom door slid open again, instantly silencing the bitter lecture Satomi-sensei had been hammering into me. Eyes all around the classroom swiveled away from me, and over to the figure standing in the doorway; a tall, lanky, pale youth, whose long white hair and one visible, bright red eye made him look very much like some specter of terrible horror. The boy gave me a concerned glance through his eye, before shrugging nonchalantly and silently walking to his seat in the far corner of the classroom. Satomi-sensei glared at him and focused her icy aura on him instead, letting me release a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding, and rolling stress off of my shoulders.

"—Awaikama-san," she said slowly, adjusting her glasses once more so that her cool grey eyes could cut more thoroughly down on him, "I was just talking of you. Once again, you have lived up to your title of 'most tardy student in the entire school'. Not once, in your entire life as a student, have you been on time to school! Honestly, I am amazed and ashamed by you and your lack of concern for such actions. You need to be more—"

"Save me the lecture, Shizuka," Reigin muttered with a soft yawn, slipping into his seat and propping his feet up on the empty desk to his left. I smirked at my albino friend and shook my head. Even though he was facing someone the whole school feared, he still managed to keep up that careless, confident attitude that just screamed 'total badass' for anyone willing to hear. Though it often got him in trouble, it certainly made him amusing to be around.

Satomi-sensei was rarely amused, though.

"Excuse me, Awaikama-san," Satomi-sensei announced, scowling at the young man, "but while you still go to school here at Kyōkataryō High School, I am your superior, and as such, you _must_ treat me as a superior, and give me the respect I deserve, and have earned from other students, your peers. You are to listen to what I say, and do as I tell you to do, so long as you are upon these grounds. Do I make myself clear, Awaikama-san?"

Reigin shrugged, slipping some ear buds into his ears. "Whatever you say, Shizuka. When you have something worth hearing, I'll start listening."

The sound of jaws dropping around the room soon filled the room as shock filled every student in the classroom at once. Did he seriously just say that? Satomi-sensei glared at him and turned away, huffing in annoyance, clearly displeased, and giving up on the endeavor completely. Her icy gaze returned to me, who wiped the smirk off my face and quickly replaced it with a dark scowl to meet hers. Sighing, Satomi-sensei waved me off and turned to the whiteboard at the front of the classroom.

"We'll get back to the issue with your tardiness at another date, Kinikkō-san. Just return to your desk." Nodding, I bolted back to my desk and slid into the seat, sighing with relief. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Yuzuki still smirking coyly at me, her pink eyes narrowed slyly upon me. I groaned and turned away.

"Shut up," I muttered, resting my head on my hand, my elbow propped up on the desk. Yuzuki gasped as I said this, and frowned at me.

"But I hadn't said anything, Shiki-kun!" I sighed and shrugged.

"You were going to, though, Yuzuki-chan." Yuzuki huffed angrily and turned away.

"Jerk!"

"Bitch."

"Quiet!" Satomi-sensei shouted, rounding on us again. Instantly the both of us sat up straight in our seats, nodding dumbly to our teacher, fearful of the punishment that may come. Satomi-sensei sighed at our fearful faces and turned back to the board. "Very good. Now then, where was I?" As she said this, I heard Hiroto lean towards me from behind.

"Oh yeah," he whispered softly, "you two are _definitely _not a couple!"

"I believe I said I wanted everyone to be quiet, Shirayumi-san," Satomi-sensei said with an icy glare, though this time directed at the blonde sitting over my shoulder. Instantly the usually out-spoken, arrogant blonde leapt back in his seat, a look of fear on his face, much like the ones Yuzuki and I were bearing.

"G-got it, Satomi-sensei!" he muttered, grimacing. I smirked at his misfortune, though, and saw a small smile tempting to rise on Yuzuki's face as well as the blonde was forced into his rightful place once more.

Satomi-sensei nodded at Hiroto's silence and turned back to the board, finally starting her lesson. And instantly, I slumped forward on my desk, disinterest and boredom welling up inside of me and overflowing my entire body. It was just another boring and unimportant lecture she had to give, nothing I wanted to listen to. Sighing, I turned my eyes up to the large clock hanging above her board. Eight fifty-five. Just twenty-five minutes away from the end of this class period. I could push through this. I just needed to stay calm, stay focused.

My composure lasted for another minute, and then I deflated again, causing Yuzuki to smirk at me again. Sighing, I turned to Takuma, looking for something interesting to preoccupy myself with. I was soon rewarded, as I noticed the indigo-haired boy working on the newest song for our band, something I had been—ahem—encouraging him to do for several days now. However, a frown formed on my face as I noticed the multiple scribbles, scratches, and confusing symbols on the paper that even I, a skilled musician, couldn't interpret. Frowning still, I picked up the score sheet and held it between myself and Takuma.

"Having trouble with _Chasing Neon Dreams,_ Takuma?" I asked, giving my friend a hard glance. Takuma sighed and slid back in his seat.

"Yeah, just a bit, Shiki," the older teen said, running a hand through his hair. "It's nothing major, just that the time seems a bit off around the middle, during Hiroto's solo." He flicked his pencil down at the black area of the guitar lines, the series of chords being written and rewritten several dozen times, it seemed. "And the style just seems too slow and underwhelming for us. I don't know, I think I may need a couple more days with this. May even need to work on it tonight, when I get the chance."

I leaned back with a groan. "You gotta be kidding me, man! We can't perform without you tonight! Tsukikage-san is letting us try our band out tonight at his bar! We _have_ to have the whole band together!"

Yuzuki's eyebrows rose slightly, a small, genuine smile on her face. "You mean he actually agreed to letting you guys perform at _The Fiery Paradise_?"

I nodded, smiling at the silver-haired girl. "That's right. He decided the place could use some nice, live music, the kind that's popular with his usual customers, and I volunteered. Really, I just wanted to give him some help." A sad, nostalgic look slipped onto my face. "After everything Tsukikage-san has done for me, I thought the least I could do is make his work a little bit easier for him."

"Yeah," Yuzuki sighed, nodding. She understood exactly what I meant. Suddenly, though, a sharp smirk formed on her face, and she narrowed her eyes again. "Though, are you _sure_ it wasn't actually so that you could earn some real money?"

I glared at her and turned away. "Shut up, Yuzuki-chan, you know I'm not the kind to do something just for money. That hurts me, you know. To think I almost invited you to come see our first performance, too!" Yuzuki shrugged and turned her attention back to the board.

"Sorry, Shiki, but I can't. Tokai-san wants me to watch his sons again while he and the wife go out on another date night. And besides," she added, sighing, "I'm only eighteen. You need to be at least twenty-one to go in a bar. Tsukikage-san is risking a lot with hiring you five alone, I don't want to bring him even more trouble by coming."

"Fine," I sighed, shrugging, "some other time then." Frowning, I turned back to Takuma. "But I'll still need you tonight man!"

"I'll be there Shiki, don't worry," he replied, returning his focus to the scores before him. "I'll still be busy with the song, though, so I can't account for how focused I'll be there."

Groaning, I flopped forward onto my desk and blankly stared up ahead. This day was going just _great_. I got to school late again, our newest song was quickly turning out to be a failure, and our new, nameless band was going to be performing with our keyboardist only half there. The day couldn't get any worse for me, could it?

Of course, I learned the hard way that day to never, ever, _ever_ let that thought enter my mind again.

_Dong._

I could hear the bells of Kyōkataryō's main church building ringing in the distance, pealing out as nine o'clock rose. At the first bell tone, I noticed a faint flash of light at the front of the room. I didn't think too much of it at first, probably someone using their Smart Phone or something, and just kept staring blankly towards Satomi-sensei and her bland lecture.

_Dong._

Then, the light changed into something very different. I jumped slightly in my seat at the sight, as did Takuma and Hiroto beside me and, by the sound of it, Reigin and Katsuo at the back of the room.

At the front of the room, flashing into existence in the blink of an eye, was a tall figure dressed in a long, pure white robe that swirled majestically around him. Shining silver and gold armor sat upon his shoulders, chest, arms, and legs, reflecting the light in a glorious glow, and bound at his side, sheathed in a scabbard of pure white metal, was a shining silver sword. His hair was a blazing copper, fiery orange, and like fire, seemed to dance and lap at the air and nonexistent breezes. His eyes burned a bright yellow, seeming like two bright, brilliant, eternal suns that burned with pure power. But perhaps the most amazing thing about him, the thing that surprised me the most about him was that he had just appeared in the blink of an eye, a flash of bright, golden light, and no one but me and my friends seemed to even notice him—not even Yuzuki beside me, who was staring right in his direction.

_Dong._

Scratch that. The things that surprised me the most were the two enormous white wings sprouting from his back, and the glowing halo that hovered over his head and gave off a bright, holy aura, that almost cancelled out Satomi-sensei's cold, malicious aura. Almost. And yet no one even batted an eye at his appearance...except for me and the gang. The mysterious man seemed to notice this, because his eyes narrowed on mine, sending a shiver up my spine, and slowly he began to walk towards me.

_Dong._

I stared in shock and fear at the angel-like man as he glided towards us. His eyes seemed to burn into me as he drew closer, his powerful, omnipotent aura washing over me and suffocating me. Dread rose in me, and I wanted to turn and run. But something...something inside of me wouldn't turn away. So, I stared up at the figure, fear flitting across my face. Yuzuki must have noticed my anxiety somehow, because the pink-eyed girl turned her gaze over to me questioningly.

"Shiki-kun? Something wrong?" I looked over at her blankly and tried to come up with something to say.

"Uh—"

_Dong._

Any word that I was about to say was cut off as the angel-dude before me suddenly swiped his hand to the sword buckled at his side and, in one fluid movement, unsheathed the blade and angled the edge to sink into my heart, the point coming to a stop only a centimeter away from my chest. My eyes nearly popped out at his actions, and Takuma beside me toppled out of his seat, along with Hiroto, surprising Yuzuki.

"What the—Takuma? Hiroto?! What are you two doing?!"

They didn't answer her, preferring to turn their attention to the figure about to shish-kabob me. At the back of the room, Katsuo and Reigin also leapt up from their seats, surprising the others around them as well. However, still no one seemed to notice the powerful angel in the room. Even Satomi-sensei didn't seem to notice any of what was going on, preferring to scowl at her students who were deciding to stand up for some odd reason.

"Boys, return to your seat this instant," she commanded in a clear voice, glaring.

"But Satomi-sensei!" Katsuo exclaimed, eyes wide.

_Dong._

And then, the angel began to speak, his voice silencing the world around us. "_**In the name of the Father and Son above, I, Gabriel, proclaim you to be the Brotherhood Archangel,**_" _Dong. _"_**Protectors of the right, Defenders of the light, and Slayers of the Damned!**_ _**In the name of the Father and Son, Awaken!**_"

_Dong._

As soon as the words left his lips, a terrible pain shot through me, like someone had just implanted razorblades into my intestines, and were now shredding me up from the inside out. I felt like every bone in my body was being crushed into a fine, white powder, and an intense burning sensation covered my skin, with the smell of smoke and sulfur filling my nose. I couldn't help but scream as the pain escaladed even further, to the point where it felt like someone was sticking a white-hot poker into my brain. Suddenly, in a flash, I was surrounded by bright light that burned my eyes, and I felt as if my eyes were bleeding out of my sockets. A thunderous pounding filled my head, worse than any migraine I'd ever had before, a percussionist wailing on the walls of my mind. Somehow, despite the pain and noise, I could still hear my friends beside me shouting in anguish, they also in similar predicaments. But, despite my best wishes, I couldn't even move a single muscle. And if I tried, they would just roar in pain as I attempted to move. I felt a terrible headache hit me, a queasiness fill my stomach, and very quickly, I felt the need to pass out come over me. Grimacing, I saw Yuzuki look at me, fear and concern in her eyes, while a painful ringing filled my ears. I couldn't bear it. I fell out of my seat.

And then, darkness.

_Dong._

* * *

I groaned, the hammering dulled, but still intense, at the back of my head. _I feel like I'm gonna throw up_, I thought bitterly, reaching one of my hands slowly up to my forehead, my fingers slowly rubbing my temples in an attempt to relieve my pain. I moaned as the pain subsided again, and after a minute or two, I blearily blinked my eyes open. A bright white light filled my vision for a few seconds, but the light soon faded away as I continued to blink my eyes. Soon, nothing but little flashing spots remained, and I was able to see where I was.

I was in a large, white room, with a large window to my side, letting sunlight into the room. I looked down around me, and sighed, seeing the white infirmary bed that Katsuo was very familiar with, from back in his more rebellious days. Sighing, I looked further into the room, over at the pink-haired nurse sitting a desk, frowning over some papers, and loudly cleared my throat.

"Ahem!" I said, frowning. The girl quickly looked up, her bright green eyes reaching mine. I sat up slowly in my bed and gestured around me. "Mind explaining to me why I'm in the infirmary, Nurse—"

"Tōkikaen," she interrupted, slipping out of her desk and slowly walking over to my side, "Tōkikaen Yukibana. Sorry, but you needed to get your rest, Kinikkō-san. I'm not exactly certain how you five managed it, but you, and your four friends all passed out after having a serious migraine, all around the same time. It's been very mindboggling to try and understand." Sighing, she shrugged. "But, the point is that you needed your rest after that."

I made a soft, 'ah' sound, and nodded, relaxing in my bed. Tōkikaen smiled and turned back to her desk and the paperwork she had been doing before. "Oh, and by the way," she said, smiling, "you have a visitor waiting just outside for you. I'll bring her in."

"Her?!" I said, leaping up in my seat. There was only one 'she' that would care to come see how I was after that. Grimacing, I clenched my eyes shut, and waited for Yuzuki's attack.

"Shiki-kun!" she cried, running into the room and right into the seat by my side. I sighed and looked up at Yuzuki in mock annoyance.

"Yuzuki, why are you here?" Yuzuki sighed and stretched slightly in her seat.

"What, your best friend can't come to see how you're doing after you suddenly fainted in the middle of the classroom? You really should be more considerate of others." I huffed in annoyance and turned away, and Yuzuki smiled. "Besides, it's just P.E. I'm not missing out on much, coming in and checking on how you're doing!"

"Hypocrite," I muttered, frowning at her, "You kick my ass for being late to class every day, and yet here you are, skipping class to watch me!"

"Geeze, can't take an act of random kindness, can you, Shiki-kun?" she asked, frowning. I shook my head and sighed. An awkward silence formed between us, a static-like tension filling the air. Finally, after a few seconds, I turned back to her and frowned.

"So, Yuzuki-chan, how much did I miss?" Yuzuki looked up at me and sighed, shaking her head.

"How does the entire day sound?" she asked innocently, making my eyes pop out again.

"The entire day?!" I exclaimed, leaping up in my bed again. Yuzuki nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that, Shiki-kun. But, that's just how it was. You and the other guys passed out in homeroom, at about nine o'clock…and, well, now it's just five before three." I groaned and rested my head in my hands.

"Great. So I missed my Literature class, Pre-Calculus, Japanese Government and Citizenship class, and P.E." I groaned again, feeling like the world was going to suck me down into a sinkhole at any minute. "I can't imagine the amount of homework I'm gonna have to make up now!"

"I can," Yuzuki said, pulling a small stack of papers from her bag. "I offered to get the homework for you and the guys while you five were passed out. I also made a few copies of my notes so that you could know what to do with the math assignment, and the government assignment." Smiling, she winked and handed me the papers. "You're welcome, by the way."

I stared in shock at the papers in her hands, and quickly pulled them away, looking them over slowly, then looking back up to her. A bright smile spread across my face, and I grinned up at her as I reached for my bag beside me and stuffed the papers inside. "Yuzuki-chan, you are a goddess! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yuzuki blushed and turned away, still smiling.

"Shut up, idiot, you know I don't like your praise!"

I smiled at her and shrugged, slipping out of my bed. "Whatever you say, Yuzuki-chan." Smiling, I pushed myself back up onto my feet, testing my stability. Feeling a bit more sure-footed, I grabbed my bag and swung it back over my shoulder, then beamed over at Yuzuki. "Well, better get going, then!"

Yuzuki nodded, quickly standing up with me and walking over to the exit. Tōkikaen frowned over at us but nodded us out, quickly diving back into her papers. Sighing, I stepped out of the infirmary with Yuzuki, and into the main office. Instantly, I saw the other guys standing along the back of the wall, frowns on each of their faces as they waited for me to exit. Reigin was the first to notice I was in the room, and with a crooked smile, he stood up and swung his one-strapped bag over his shoulder, gesturing for the others to stand as well. Hiroto, frowning, looked over at where Reigin was staring, and then split his face in a grin, quickly hopping back up onto his feet.

"Shiki!" he cheered, smirking. "I was wondering when you were gonna come out of there. Some of us were worried that we'd have to call off tonight's performance, what with our lead singer out of commission for the time." I chuckled and shook my head.

"Yeah right, Hiroto, like you wouldn't take your chance to live in the spotlight with me out of the way!" Hiroto's jaw dropped, and the blonde shook his head fervently.

"Who, me? Never, I would never even think of doing such an act!"

"Says the man that wanted to call the band 'Hiroto and Company'," Katsuo muttered, causing the other boys to laugh loudly. Hiroto glared at him and shook his head.

"So what? It's a cool name!"

"Whatever," I said, adjusting my backpack again. "Anyways, boys, let's get out of here."

Nodding, the rest of the gang stood up and followed me and Yuzuki out the front doors of the school. Yuzuki smiled and waved goodbye to me as she left towards her neighborhood, an area called Upper Kyōkataryō, where the city looked larger and more complex. I waved her off and walked with the rest of the gang down towards Lower Kyōkataryō, where the more homely and suburban neighborhoods could be found. The five of us walked in silence for a while, and then Takuma turned to me, smiling from behind his glasses.

"So, Shiki…what was that about?"

I groaned, knowing what he was talking about. The problem, though, was that I had no idea how to explain it. We had all passed out, all probably because of the same thing, but I couldn't understand how to explain it to the other guys. I mean, if I told them that I had seen an angel in the room, and that made me faint, how would they react? No, I needed time to think this through. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I stalled.

"Listen, guys," I said with a yawn, "we all had a long, late night last night, and were up way past our usual time. Maybe we should just leave this for later tonight, when our heads aren't rolling over everything the day has thrown our way. After all, we _do_ have our performance at Tsukikage-san's bar tonight, and then there's all of that homework we missed out on. Let's just focus on that for now, and then we'll discuss what happened in the classroom, all right?"

The others grumbled thoughts of disapproval, but overall, everyone agreed that was the best course of action to take. So, sighing, we split up and headed back to our homes to prepare for the rest of the day.

* * *

As soon as I got home, I went to work belting out as many answers as I could for my homework. I smiled to myself as I reached the math portion, and noticed that not only had Yuzuki given me the notes for the day, but she had also answered half of the harder problems already for me. I finished the rest of the work as fast as I could, and then tossed the homework back into my bag to be ready for Monday, and rushed up the stairs to my room. I tore out of my student clothes and donned a more appropriate wardrobe for my performance tonight; a black jacket with a white undershirt, faded blue jeans, and a pair of faded kicks. Smirking at my appearance, now much better than it had been that morning, I slipped down the stairs, grabbed the house keys and my white electric guitar, and turned into the house.

"I'm heading over to Katsuo's, Mom! Probably gonna be gone until sometime tomorrow!" Grinning, I bolted out the door and ran outside. Yeah, I told a lie, but so what? Like she'd actually let me go work at Tsukikage-san's bar, performing with the band. He may have been like a father to me, but that didn't keep him safe from my mom's wrath. If anything, it made him a more common target for said wrath.

It took me about fifteen minutes of running to get where I needed to go, but when I got there, I couldn't help but grin as the neon orange, yellow, and blue lights that lined the top of _The Fiery Paradise_, looking almost too much like the real flames the bar got its name from, came into my view. Smirking up at the glowing sign above the front doors, I threw my hand out and swung the door open, grinning in at the joint's occupants.

"Hey, Tsukikage-san, sorry if I'm late, had a lot of homework to do, and—"

A rough chuckle interrupted me as I tried to say my excuses, and the tall, imposing figure of Tsukikage Hayate walked up to me from behind the bar. The tall man's stubble-covered face was split in a bright smile as the large man looked down at me, and he rested one of his tattoo-covered arms on my shoulder, shaking his head as he chuckled.

"Shiki, Shiki, Shiki," he said, smirking, "no need to give me any excuses, boy. You made it right on time—early, actually, if you account for the fact that there ain't any customers yet." Chuckling, he winked at me and turned to the variety of alcoholic drinks behind him. "Besides, it's Reigin we need to worry about, right? Ain't he the one that's always late to everything?"

I nodded, smirking back at the tall orange-haired man. "That he is, Tsukikage-san," I chuckled, smiling. The large bartender nodded, pouring a large shot of beer for himself and taking a long drink.

"Yeah…but, Shiki, there is one thing I need you to do, while you're here now." Frowning, I turned back to him and slid my hands into my pockets casually.

"What's that, Tsukikage-san?"

"Call me Hayate!" the bartender said with a chuckle, clapping me on the shoulder again. "You've known me for almost as long as you've been alive. No need to be all formal with me, with names and such. Just call me Hayate, all right, boy?"

My face split into a grin as I nodded to him and stepped back. "Got it Hayate-san," I agreed with a chuckle. Hayate nodded and turned back to his drinks, taking a quick inventory. Smirking again, I continued down into the bar, giving the bartender's platinum blonde daughter, Naomi, a quick nod and warm smile. The blonde smiled back as she wiped down the bar, and gestured over towards a small stage set up in the back of the bar.

"The others are waiting over there for you, Shiki-san," she said with a smile, getting back to her work. I nodded and looked over, noticing for the first time the three available members of the gang there. The entire group was wearing similar clothes to each other, but a few small differences stood between each of them. Hiroto wore a pale yellow undershirt, and had a simple lucky charm strung around his neck. Katsuo wore a bright red undershirt, almost as red as his hair, and a few chains hung from his pants, drumsticks sticking out of his back pockets. Takuma, the last one there, wore a light purple undershirt, and had a slightly darker purple scarf wrapped around his neck. All together, they looked like they were ready for tonight.

Hiroto smirked as I walked up to the group and took a seat at the table. "Once again, Shiki," he said, smirking up at me, "it's about time you got here. We've been waiting fifteen minutes now for you and Reigin to show up." Sighing, he kicked up his heels and rested them on the table. "Well, we'll just have to wait for Reigin now, then."

"No you don't," the albino said, suddenly appearing in the seat next to me, wearing clothes similar to the others, but with a pale green undershirt. All four of us leapt up from our seats, eyes wide as Reigin smirked at our shock and surprise. _Geeze, sixteen years I've known him and that __**still**__ surprises the hell out of me!_

"Damn it, Reigin," Hiroto growled, after he had calmed down a bit, "would you quit doing that? Nobody here likes it when you pop out at us from nowhere!"

Reigin shrugged, sporting a wide grin. "I like it, Hiroto," he said, smirking at the blonde, "seems good enough of a reason to keep doing it then."

"Shut up," he growled, burying his head in the cradle his arms made on the table, and quickly began mumbling unintelligible ramblings to himself. I laughed at the blonde's plight, and turned my view over to Takuma, who was also laughing at Hiroto's shame.

"So Takuma," I said, smirking, "how goes _Chasing Neon Dreams_? Think you're satisfied enough with it that you can stay focused on performing tonight?" Takuma nodded, leaning down to his bag that lay by his chair and pulling out his manila music folder.

"Just put some finishing touches on it before you got here, Shiki," he said, smirking. "I wanted to see if we could give it a try, you know, to start the night off well." Katsuo frowned, grabbing the folder and tearing one of the scores out—to be more accurate, the score for his drums and percussion licks.

"What?" he said with a frown, looking over the notes. "We can't just go out with a number we haven't even tested out yet, Takuma! We need time, we need to practice!"

"Are you telling me," Takuma asked, adjusting his glasses slightly, "that you, Akaiken Katsuo, the Red Devil Drummer, can't handle performing a song, without having first practiced the piece several dozen times before hand? And here I thought you said that you were the best of the best."

"I am!" Katsuo growled, falling for Takuma's taunt. "You know what, we're doing this! We're performing with this one, _Chasing Neon Dreams_, first!"

I smirked at Katsuo's words, and leaned over to Takuma. "Nice job, man," I whispered not-so-softly. The indigo-haired friend of mine shrugged and leaned away.

"What? I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, yeah," Reigin said, smirking at his friend. Sighing, he turned the gaze of his single red eye to me and smirked. "Anyway, Shiki…we're all here now, and there's a little bit of time before any customers come in…let's talk about what happened in the classroom today."

Cue groan. To be honest, I had been hoping that they had all forgotten what had happened all together, and just let it roll on by, like everything else in our lives that had gone less than okay. Sighing, I looked up at the others and shrugged. "Well guys," I muttered, "I don't know what to tell you all. I mean, you all saw what I saw, right?"

"You mean that tall angel-like dude who nearly stabbed you in the heart before muttering some gibberish?" Hiroto asked, frowning.

"Yeah, exactly!" I exclaimed. I was surprised. I didn't think that they _had_ seen what I had seen. Reigin frowned and looked down at the skull ring on his right ring finger.

"I'm not certain what that was about," the albino said, frowning, "but whatever it was, it gave me one hell of a bad vibe, guys."

"Same with me," Takuma said, holding his chin in thought, "though, if we took this a bit more slowly, perhaps we could say it was simply a hallucination. After all, like you said earlier, Shiki, we had been up late at Katsuo's place. Perhaps, due to our lack of sleep, and the blandness of Satomi-sensei's lecture, we started seeing things before passing out from a serious migraine."

"And we all hallucinated about the same thing?" Katsuo asked, frowning. "I'm sorry, Takuma. I may not be a total genius like you, but even I think that's kind of out there!"

"Yeah, I agree with Katsuo," Hiroto said, putting his two cents in, "besides, why would it be about an angel in the first place? And an angel named Gabriel for that matter?"

"Did you boys just say something about Gabriel?"

I frowned, looking back at Hayate, who was standing behind us with a six pack of beers in one hand, and a deep-etched frown on his face. I nodded slowly, the thought of why he was reacting like that coming up in my head. It was quickly pushed away, though, as my eyes narrowed on the case of beers in his hands.

"Uh, Hayate-san?" I asked, gesturing off-handedly to the beers. "What's up with the beers?"

Hayate looked down at the beers blankly, and then shrugged, setting them down on the table. "Well, I thought you boys might want to have a nice drink before we started getting down to work." I frowned up at him and sighed.

"Hayate-san? We're eighteen. We can't drink liquor of any kind until we're twenty-one."

"Oh yeah," he said, frowning, "forgot about that stupid law." Shaking his head quickly, he turned a nearby chair around and sat down in it, facing us. "But, enough of that, boys. Just, back to what I was asking you. You said something about the Angel Gabriel, right?"

"Yeah," Reigin said, looking over at the orange-haired bartender with a frown, "yeah, we said that. Why, do you know something we don't, Hayate-san?" Hayate frowned, and slowly looked over at Naomi, who gave him a small nod, and then up at the clock on the wall, and then back to us with a sigh.

"Well—"

_BRIIING!_

The rest of Hayate's sentence was cut off as the bell went off and the bar's front doors opened, revealing a few men looking very tired and very much in need of a good, long drink. Hayate instantly stopped and shot up, turning to the new customers with a broad grin. "Ah, hello sirs!" he cheered, stepping back behind the bar and picking up a hand towel, "how can I help you today?"

The five of us sweatdropped. "He's not going to get back to explaining, is he?" Katsuo asked, looking over to me and Takuma with a touch of annoyance. Takuma shrugged, while I nodded, and the red-head just sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Whatever," Reigin said, stepping up to the stage and grabbing his white and pale-green acoustic guitar and slinging it over his shoulders, "we've got a show to play, guys." Nodding, the rest of us got up onto the stage, though we were all still wondering what Hayate had almost told us. I sighed myself, shrugging the thoughts off and grabbing my guitar. Beside me, Hiroto began plucking on his own pale-yellow colored guitar, and behind us, Katsuo sat in front of his red drum set and twirled his drumsticks along his fingers, while Takuma slid into his seat at the onyx-colored keyboard.

When the building had about ten or eleven customers sitting around at the tables in the bar, I turned back and nodded to the others. Katsuo nodded back, giving me a steady beat, while Hiroto and Reigin began to strum. Smirking, I turned back to the bar, and sang low.

"_I walk down a long, straight road,  
One that few ever seem to go,  
With these crazy thoughts bouncing 'round my head.  
I look around for some kind of sign  
Of where to go, though it's rarely right,  
Sometimes I think I should've followed what they said.  
But all these thoughts never bother me, (no)  
'Cause I'll never give up Chasing Neon Dreams._

_Chasing Neon Dreams, like catching shooting stars,  
You'll always keep on wishing, though it seems way too far.  
Keep your eyes on the prize and push until the end of time;  
Never give up on what you believe.  
Love your life, and Chase Neon Dreams._

_Sometimes I find myself surprised  
Of just how far I've walked down this line,  
And how much I've progressed along the way.  
I may never reach the end,  
But I'm stronger now than when I began,  
And this dream I have gets closer every day.  
I will always aim for what means to me, (yeah)  
I'll always be Chasing Neon Dreams._

_Chasing Neon Dreams, like catching shooting stars,  
You'll always keep on wishing, though it seems way too far.  
Keep your eyes on the prize and push until the end of time;  
Never give up on what you believe.  
Love your life, and Chase Neon Dreams."_

I paused, panting from singing bright and loudly, as Hiroto wailed on his electric guitar, belting out one of his famous guitar solos that made the whole world stop and listen. Or, at least, just the bar. Which, the entire time, had been cheering us on. I grinned at the cheers and sprang back in as Hiroto's solo ended.

"_So no matter what life throws your way, (hey)  
Push on through and look to the next day,  
'Cause life is easier than what it seems,  
When you walk the road of Chasing Neon Dreams._

_Chasing Neon Dreams, like catching shooting stars,  
You'll always keep on wishing, though it seems way too far.  
Keep your eyes on the prize and push until the end of time;  
Never give up on what you believe.  
Love your life, and Chase Neon Dreams. (Yeah!)_

_Chasing Neon Dreams, like catching shooting stars,  
You'll always keep on wishing, though it seems way too far.  
Keep your eyes on the prize and push until the end of time;  
Never give up on what you believe.  
Love your life, and Chase Neon Dreams."_

Hiroto belted out another epic guitar lick as our song came to an end, and the entire bar, now almost filled, erupted in applause. Grinning, I nodded back to the others, and made a signal with my finger to move on with the next song. Katsuo nodded to me, and began our next song, _My Kind of Night_. I waited for Takuma to join with a slow, melancholy tune, and then I started singing again, somber-feeling at first.

_"Friday night, the end of the week,  
Time to hit the bars and have something sweet  
To dull the memories of the last few days.  
Kickin' back and rolling off stress  
But tonight no beer can give me no rest;  
There's only one thing that can give me what I need."_

Instantly Hiroto jumped in, picking up the tempo suddenly, rocking out. Grinning, I got back in, the music pumping and pulsing now.

_"Driving out to some restful woods,  
Starting a fire to set the mood,  
Holding you close 'neath the white sta-arlight,  
Kissing you 'til the break of dawn,  
Then moving on with the rising sun,  
Spending time with you, that's My Kind of Night!"_

I grinned as the crowd began to get into the mood with the music, a few of the customers even giving a few whoops and cheers as we continued. Quickly, I refocused on the music and continued barreling on into the second verse.

_"I know others might be surprised,  
But drinking 'way pain is no life  
Or a way to kill the wicked stress from work.  
Loving you is so more sweet,  
Gets me up with springs in my feet,  
And when the weekend comes, I want all I can get._

_By Driving out to some restful-"_

_SHHHHAAAARRRRYYYYAAAARRRR!_

The song came to a sudden stop, the speakers breaking into static as a shrill, sharp shriek filled the air, rattling the windowpanes and knocking a few of the bottles and glasses off the shelves. "What the-" Katsuo said, standing up and staring at the shaking building. "What the hell is going on?!" None of the customers answered us, as they, in unison, all suddenly shuddered and fainted in front of us. Naomi, who was at a person's table looked up at the shaking building in fear. And back at the bar, Hayate grimaced even darker.

"Damn it, why now?" Frustration sizzling off of him, he turned to us and glared. "Okay, guys, just stay here, okay? I'll be right back!" Without another word, he stood up and ran out the bar's doors. And, in an instant, the bar was still.

"Screw that," Katsuo abruptly said, after about a minute had passed. Frowning, he leapt up from his seat and started walking up to the bar's front doors. "I don't know about all of you guys, but I want to see what's going on."

Takuma frowned and stood up. "But Hayate told us to stay here. Shouldn't we listen to him?" At that, Hiroto snorted and shook his head.

"The guy never follows the rules put before _him_, hell, sometimes he doesn't even follow his own rules. Why should we?" Quickly he looked over to Reigin and glared.

"You know, some people prefer not to be bothered, Hiroto. I'd think you'd learn that after you first tried to pester me into joining this band." We all shivered at his comment, remembering that day all too well. No one but the two of them knew what had happened, but whatever Reigin did left Hiroto so spooked that for three days straight, he just curled up into a ball and waited for the sun to come up the next day. I sighed, and started to speak, but then the shaking returned.

_SHHHHRRRRAAAAYYYYAAAAHHHH!_

Grimacing, I stood up and started walking to the front doors. "You know what, I'm in," I said confidently, striding up and grabbing the door's handle. "Whatever it is out there, I'm certainly not going to let Hayate handle on his own." I didn't look back to see if the others would follow me, I just swung open the door and stepped out into the night...and upon a sight I would never forget.

Right in the center of the street was an enormous ring of bright orange and blue flames, and Hayate was standing in the center of the flames, the right sleeve of his leather jacket pulled down, revealing the cryptic tattoo he had on his arm, which was glowing a bright, evil orange. Flying above him in the air were what looked like a swarm of large, wasp-like creatures, but with devilish, humanoid faces, long, ivory horns, skeletal arms and legs, and long, scorpion tails. Some were bright red, others shocking yellow, and even more a dull, dirty black, but in all the designs one thing stayed the same; on their backs, just above their wings, were white, skull-like markings. The creatures shrieked again, and a few dove down at Hayate. My heart stopped as I realized what they were about to do, and acted on instinct, leaping out to Hayate.

"Hayate! Look ou-"

"**Pillars of Hell!**" Hayate shouted, throwing his right arm up. Instantly, there was a bright flash of light, and a large pillar of flame plummeted out of the sky onto the attackers. They shrieked, some escaping, most burning away.

At that point, I was pretty much certain that this was all just a very freaky nightmare. I heard the bar's front doors swing open behind me, and the other's jaws drop in shock. However, my attention turned to our orange-haired friend, who was gripping his right arm in pain. Smoke and steam rose up off of the strange tattoos he had branded into the skin.

"Damn it!" he growled, looking up at the attackers above him. "I'm gonna burn out before long, and there're still too many for me to handle on my own! Damn, where's Shizuka when you need her?" Grimacing, he looked up as another squadron of the large insect-like creatures zipped down towards him. Hayate glared at the freaky creatures and threw his arm out again, sweat rolling down his forehead. "**Flames of Torment!**"

This time, three thick, cord-like columns of flame shot out of the palm of his right hand. The orange flames lashed out at the creatures as they drew near. The first two got hit by the whips right in the middle of their heads, and instantly burst into flames. The third, though, shrilled loudly and dodged the long whips, nailing Hayate in the chest with a head butt.

"Gah!" the old bartender grunted, falling back, out of the ring of flames. Instantly, the tattoos on his right arm dimmed back to their normal black ink color, and the creatures shrilled louder. Chattering loudly, they climbed up into the sky, swarming together. Hayate grimaced, clutching his chest painfully, and started to fall forward.

"Hayate!" I shouted, leaping forward as fast as I could.

"_**Do you wish to save him?**_"

My eyes widened, and I snapped them up to the all-too-familiar voice. The others around me gasped as the figure from before, in the classroom, appeared before us, standing above us in the middle of the air. Slowly, I stepped forward, nodding to him.

"You…you say that you can save him?" The angel nodded, turning to the conflict.

"_**That man is one of three Gatekeepers of Hell, the one chosen to wield the power of the flame. He is a formidable opponent in battle, so to see him in such a state tells me the foe he is facing is unlike any other he'd ever faced. This calls for a power greater than those he wields.**_" Frowning, he turned to the five of us. "_**It is time for the five of you to awaken your powers, and defeat this foe!**_"

"Powers…?" Hiroto asked, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Takuma asked, "Powers? How can we use these powers?"

"_**Just trust your instincts,**_" the angel replied, starting to fade away, "_**Trust yourselves in the coming conflict, and you shall succeed. I leave the rest in your able hands, Archangels.**_" Smiling, the angel nodded once more, and then disappeared.

I stared blankly up at the spot he had been standing in, then turned to the battle before us. I don't know why, but seeing the man that I looked up to in such a weak state, and seeing the attackers who did it to him flying just overhead, something in me snapped. I had had enough. I stepped forward.

"Guys," I said lowly, "Let's do this."

My friends seemed to have picked up on the feeling I had, because the next thing I knew, Hiroto was right beside me, frowning. "You're crazy, Shiki," the blonde said, clenching his fists, "but that must make me crazy, too! If those things want Hayate, they need to get through the two of us!"

"Three of us!" Katsuo shouted, stepping forward and pulling his fists back. "I'm not letting anyone get hurt tonight!"

"I'm with you guys," Takuma said, with Reigin slipping in right beside him, "we won't let these...things get to Hayate! We're gonna stand together!"

I smirked at my collected friends and teammates, and then turned towards the battle, a strange feeling filling my entire body. Grinning, I clenched my fists tight, and then launched myself towards the fight.

What happened next would change my life forever.

* * *

Hayate felt his heart drop as the Demons began to fall upon him again. His life had been so long, so prosperous, and now, he was going to die at the hands of some small Swarm-class Demons? He grimaced, waiting for the final attack…that never came. Frowning, the man looked up, just as a bright flash of light filled the street, with shrieks from the Demons filling the night air. Hayate's eyes caught sight of five figures blitzing through the Swarm, moving faster than any human could. His eyes widened, and another bright flash of light shot out, making him have to cover his face.

"Impossible," the bartender said, lowering his arm from his face. "They can't have..." All five of his friends and new coworkers were standing several dozen feet behind the swarm. The Demons shuddered, frozen in the air for a moment. Then the creatures shrieked one last time, shattering into a strange, pale black dust.

"Unbelievable...they did it..." he gasped, turning his gaze to the five. The young men slowly turned back to the swirling dust as it slowly disappeared into the air, smirking. Hayate, though, was more interested in the objects on their arms.

Shiki's arms were wrapped in golden and white armor, like gauntlets, and in his right hand was a large, glowing claymore. Hiroto wore white gauntlets, his left arm covered in thicker armor than his right one, and in his right hand was a large, white bow with golden tips. Katsuo wore red and silver gauntlets, thicker than Shiki's, and in his hands were two, enormous battle axes with strange, red symbols on the blades. Takuma wore black and silver gauntlets, longer and slimmer than Shiki's, with a long, black staff in his hands, a locust carved into the head. Finally, Reigin wore pale green and white gauntlets, similar to Takuma's, and in his hands was a long scythe, seemingly made of bones.

"I can't believe it," he murmured, starting to smirk.

"The age of the Brotherhood Archangel has finally begun."


	3. Ch2: In Another Life

**Chapter 2: In Another Life**

_I was falling. At least, that's what it felt like. But with my eyes screwed shut and the roaring marching band in my eardrums, I couldn't really tell if I was actually plummeting to my inevitable demise, or soaring to my own perfected paradise. Whichever way I was going, though, there was one thing of which I was completely certain. It hurt like hell!_

_The harsh, cold wind blasted me in the face with a terrible tempest, razor blades made of air slashing away at my head, shoulders, arms, chest, back, and legs. A burning, stinging sensation, as strong as the bitter cold of the wind, erupted all over my body, as though I had been thrown straight into a roaring bonfire. And then there was the constant pounding, pounding, pounding at the back of my head, like someone was taking a battering ram to the back of my head, to get inside. And with each passing second, the wind tore more wildly, the fire burned more fiercely, the hammering pounded more heavily. I felt like screaming, I was feeling so much pain. I just wanted it all to be over. I just wanted it all to be done._

_And then, suddenly, it was._

_Literally, one second I was feeling more pain and anguish than I had ever felt in my entire short life, and the next, it was all gone. All the fiery, fierce stings and welts that had covered my body and bruised my skin, gone. All the cruel, chilling shafts in the whirlwind, the razorblades from the roaring, raging wing, gone. All the rancorous, rumbling pounding and hammering that had blown a blunt hole in the back of my head, gone. In its absence, an oddly calming, peaceful feeling welled up inside me, resting my racing heart. Frowning awkwardly, I lowered my arms from my face, a defensive stance I hadn't even realized I'd been taking, and slowly opened my eyes to…nothing._

_It wasn't the 'nothing' you see when you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, when the blackness of the night is like a heavy blanket that smothers you back to sleep. Instead, all that surrounded me was a blank, pure white space of emptiness, with swirls of gold and silver weaving around and throughout the emptiness. I stared blankly around at the whiteness, and watched a pulsing, golden swirl dip, dive, and spin by me, before returning to the blankness, and frowned to myself._

"_Okay," I muttered softly, my voice breaking the still silence, "what's going on here?"_

"**So you've finally awakened.**_"_

_My heart leapt in my chest at the strange, sudden, ethereal voice that had seemed to come from all points and filled the emptiness. I spun around quickly, but could only see more of the blank, whiteness of my surroundings. "Wha…who?" I asked in confusion, looking around feverishly, my heart pounding in my ears and in my chest. Suddenly, a low chuckling surrounded me, and the swirls of silver and gold began to pulsate with the chuckling._

"**My, Shiki, eighteen years of living on Earth, and you somehow managed to remain the serious, stubborn, reproachful youth I taught and knew you to be in the past life.**_" The voice made a soft 'heh' sound, and continued. "_**Though, considering what our Father, Elohim, has planned for both you and your friends from here on out, that was probably for the best.**_"_

"_What?!" I exclaimed, turning around again, and once more only seeing the white blankness that surrounded me, and the swirling spirals that continued to lightly pulsate. "What are you talking about? Past life?Elohim?Plans?! Who are you, and what do you mean by all of this?!" The swirls pulsated brighter still as the voice made a 'tsk'-ing sound._

"**I apologize, my dear friend and comrade, but I have been asked to refrain from telling you anything further of the secrets of your past. Another has been given that privilege, the duty of revealing everything you wish to know to you.**_" Suddenly, a bright, golden glow began to rise around me, and I could feel it tugging at me, causing the voice to chuckle again. "_**Speak of the Devil. It appears as though the time has come for you to leave this world and return to the one you belong in, Shiki. I am certain, however, that we shall see each other again very shortly.**_"_

"_Wait!" I shouted, looking around at the glow frantically. "Wait! What do you mean? You can't leave me hanging like this! Give me at least __**some**__ answers, man!" The glow grew even more massive and heavy, and instantly I was surrounded in a bright, blinding flash of light, drowning out the rest of my voice as I continued to shout abuse at the voice._

_And in another fiery blast of light, I was gone._

* * *

"Answer me, damn it!" I exclaimed, sitting up suddenly, my head flying off my pillow.

Wait…my pillow?

I blinked my eyes in confusion, quickly looking around at my surroundings. Sure enough, I was tucked into a large bed, wrapped up in sheets and blankets, quite literally, like I always do every single morning. Sighing with relief, I fell back onto my pillow and stared happily up at the ceiling above. It had all just been one big, crazy dream. The biggest, most insane dream I'd ever had. It made sense, after all. I couldn't have really seen an angel, and fought off dozens of monstrous creatures, without breaking sweat, right? That would be insane! And impossible! I laughed and shook my head. I'd just been here, asleep the whole time, in my—

This wasn't my room.

Slowly I sat up again, frowning. I hadn't noticed it at first, but now, a few minutes later, it all registered. I noticed all the small differences, the small signs. The walls and ceiling of the room, instead of being the pale cream color that I have grown to loathe, were a dark grey, with paler grey baseboards along the edge of the floor. The floor, instead of being a bespeckled beige carpet, was a deep red-orange, with black, grey, and white speckles mixed into the carpeting. The dresser and closet were in different places than in my room, as was the door, and all three of them were painted black instead of just being plain wood. The bedside table was also black, and instead of my always-failing alarm clock that I hated with a fiery passion, there was a silver writing lamp, with a small notebook set next to it. And the bed I was still sitting in was made of black pillows and blankets, instead of dull navy blue, and red-orange sheets, instead of bland white. All in all, it all just cemented the fact that I was not in my bedroom, though it did offer one question.

"Where am I?" I wondered aloud, frowning to myself.

"Still at _The Fiery Paradise_, Shiki."

My eyes snapped to the bedroom door, which had silently slid open to reveal a certain tall, thin, albino friend of mine. Frowning, I slid out of the bed and stood slowly to face Reigin.

"_The Fiery Paradise_?" I asked, the wheels still only slowly turning in my head. "Why are we—"

"After all the craziness that happened last night," Reigin said, interrupting me with a sigh, "'parently we all fainted stone-cold on the road, nowhere to go. Hayate, being the kind and generous man he is, couldn't just leave us all out there, lying in the streets, so he took us into the back of _The Fiery Paradise_, where he and Naomi live. I just woke up 'bout a half hour ago, the others are up as well by now, too. Everyone's just downstairs, waiting for you to finally get up."

"Oh," I said, sighing as a small smile meandered onto my face. "That's good to kn—"

My voice caught in my throat as my mind was going a million miles an hour. What he'd just told me—if what Reigin had just said was true, then that would mean that everything that I had thought I'd just thought up, just dreamed up, was real, and it had all happened yesterday. Everything, from Yuzuki punishing me for being late again, to the angel appearing to me and the other guys, _twice_, to the battle I still only vaguely remember, against those strange, bug-like monsters. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, and I felt myself mentally stagger at its presence. If that was real, then what about the dream, the voice, that I had seen and heard just moments ago? Was that real, too? My head was starting to swim from all the thoughts bouncing around in my head with nowhere to go, and I reached out to Reigin, leaning my hand on his shoulder as I struggled to steady myself.

"Wait, so," I muttered, gripping my forehead, "does that mean…that everything…that everything from yesterday…it was all real?"

"That's why everyone is waiting for us downstairs," Reigin replied, frowning, "once everyone is up and able, Hayate's going to try and explain everything we need to know for us." Smirking, Reigin stepped back and turned to the door again. "Probably should head down ourselves, then."

"You think?" I asked sarcastically, pushing past Reigin and out the door. The sooner Hayate got around to explaining this whole thing to us, the sooner this headache would be out of my way.

Just as Reigin had said, by the time he and I stepped off the stairs and into Hayate's kitchen and dining room, everyone else had already been up. Naomi was in the kitchen, working on breakfast for everyone, while her father and my three other friends sat around the dining table, the old bartender lazily reading the newspaper while drinking from his coffee cup filled with black coffee. As Reigin and I began to sit down in two of the three open seats around the dining table, he looked up from over the top of his papers and smiled a bright, 'good morning' grin at us.

"Ah, Shiki, Reigin," he said, folding up the newspaper and setting it beside him, "how good of the two o you to come join us. Naomi," he called over his shoulder, "don't forget to add Shiki's plate into the mix for this morning."

"Already on it, Dad," the blonde girl said, smiling over her popping eggs. "Hope you guys like pancakes and omelets, because that's what I'm making today." I nodded back and settled down in my chair.

"That's great, thanks Naomi-san."

Smiling, Naomi returned to her cooking, and Hayate leaned towards me with a small smile upon his face. "So, Shiki my boy, how did you sleep last night? Get all the rest that you're going to need for today?" Slowly I nodded back to him, though my scowl pushed through as I looked the old bartender in the eyes.

"Yeah, I slept just fine, Hayate. That is, if you ignore the unbelievably realistic, insane dream I'd just had." Hayate frowned as I said this, and I saw a glimmer of knowledge and understanding shine in the back of his eyes, so I continued. "I was falling like crazy through space and felt like I was going through more pain that was physically possible, when all of a sudden, it all ended. I found myself floating around in some endlessly white room, with swirls of silver and gold floating around me, while some other-worldly voice spoke to me."

"We all had dreams like that, Shiki," Hiroto commented, giving me a small frown, "So what?"

"So what?" I asked back, looking at him like he was mental…well, more-so than usual. "Dude, no one just 'has' the same dream as someone else, and I'm certain that it can't happen between five people all at the exact same time! There's something else here, a connection that we can't see, something important." As I said this, I looked over at Hayate and gave the man a sharp scowl. "And I have a feeling that you know the truth, Hayate-san."

The kitchen became eerily silent as everyone's gazes turned from me to the brightly-haired man at the end of the table who was casually sipping from his coffee mug. The only one not staring at him was his daughter, who was still busying herself with the sizzling and popping food in the kitchen. Finally, after another minute had passed in near-silence, Hayate sighed and placed his coffee mug back on the table.

"Fine, boys," he said with a faint huff, "it's too late for me to ease you into it, like I had been planning to, so I'll tell you what you want and need to know. But," he said, giving the five of us a quick, sharp scowl as we all started to open our mouths to speak, "in order for me to tell you everything, you need to stay silent until the end, keep your questions to yourselves. Understood?"

"Sure," I said, nodding with the others in agreement. Hayate smiled faintly at this, and sighed, rolling back into his chair.

"Very well then. Now, in order for me to tell you truthfully what happened yesterday, and what those odd dreams you had last night were all about, you must understand that, before any of you were born, before any living being on earth was born, we all lived another life, in a realm we have come to call Heaven."

I frowned at Hayate's words, and looked over at the others around me. We had heard about Heaven before, and about the premortal existence. Most of us had been raised Catholic, or Christian of some sort. So why was Hayate talking about Heaven now? Ignoring our expressions, the bartender continued on.

"Before any of us were born, we were all beings composed only of souls and spirits. We had no tangible bodies, no meat or bones upon us at all. We simply appeared as spirit versions of ourselves. There was only one being in Heaven who had a body of flesh and blood, and he was our literal father, _the_ Father, Elohim. Because he had an immortal, incorruptible body, he was able to work great wonders and marvels, creating enormous universes and impressive worlds. We were all impressed by his skills and powers, and as all children do, we yearned to be like him. And our Father, who wanted only what was best for us, was willing to show us how to become like him. If, of course, we passed his test."

"The test, while seeming fairly straight forward, was actually very intricate and detailed. It called for every spirit within Heaven to fall to Earth, and be born within a mortal body of flesh and blood. We would have no memory of our lives in Heaven, and would have to struggle to keep the commandments which he gave us in the premortal existence. To help lead and teach us, he would send down his mightiest of spirits—those we have come to know as prophets, and even Angels—who would be able to interpret the Father's plan for us. We would have to struggle to do as well as we could, to abide by his precepts. If we failed to abide by him, we would fail. To save us from wrong-doings, and sins, the Father would send a Savior, his eldest son, to take all the sins of the Earth upon himself, and save us from our wrongs. Then, we would be judged, at the end of our mortal lives, upon the intents of our hearts, and if they were just and good, then we would finally pass the test. If they were not, then we would fail, never to have god-like powers liken unto the Father's."

"There were many that supported the plan our Father set before us. It was tough, but just, and definitely worth the struggle. But there were some in Heaven who saw the plan as being corrupt, and faulty. Leading these beings was Lucifer, the second strongest Angel in Heaven. He and his followers believed that the other spirits would be too foolish, and would make too many mistakes on Earth to be saved. He proposed that all spirits be forced to do good, so that they would definitely make it back to Heaven." Hayate's face twisted into a scowl, and he clenched his fists tightly. "He was opposed, of course, and he and his followers tempted fate further, by waging war on God and his Angels. When he finally fell, he and his followers were banished from Heaven and tossed down into Hell, the darkest of all the realms in the universe. Upon his fall, the plan began, and—"

"Uh, Hayate-san?"Reigin interrupted, raising his hand slowly. "I know you didn't want us to interrupt and all, but…we all already know this story. We've been taught it since we were old enough to understand basic Japanese."

"Yeah," I said, frowning, "so what's different with your version?"

Hayate frowned at all of us, perhaps for interrupting him as he had asked us not to, but finally sighed and nodded. "Yes," he replied slowly, rapping his knuckles against the armrests of his chair, "yes, I know you all know this story already. What you don't know, is how you all play into it."

"The Angels in Heaven wanted to mourn the falling of Lucifer, as well as all of their brothers and sisters. They were great beings, and would have done well on Earth, had they not fallen, and become Fallen Angels. But the mourning was cut short, as the Angel Metatron, the being in charge of recording all of the dealings in the Father's council, received a terrible vision of a future yet to come. Fallen Angels would dwell amongst men and women upon the Earth, summoning the vilest of Demons to trick the men and women to fall, like they had. The gates of Hell would be opened wide, and the Kings of the Demons would be unleashed to wreck havoc upon the Earth. And, finally, Lucifer himself would break free of Hell, in the seventh millennium after his fall, and would wage war once more on God. He, of course, was looking into our days, and the nearing Apocalypse."

Hayate frowned, and took another long sip from his slowly cooling coffee. "When the Father heard of this vision, he found himself in quite the dilemma. Not only was his prodigal son continuing to fight against him, but the way in which he would wage war against him would send even more of his children to their deaths. God needed a way to save his children, and he needed one fast. And that was when the Savior, our eldest brother, came forward."

"Wait, the Savior had a solution, and not God?" Hiroto asked, frowning. Hayate sighed and nodded slowly.

"He _was _our eldest brother, his glory even in premortal existence almost parallel to the Father's. He proposed that half of the beings in Heaven become prison guards of Hell, to ensure that Lucifer and his most trusted followers would not escape—you know them as 'Devils'. They were promised that they would receive the Father's glory, though they would not take his test, so long as they continued in their duties as protectors of Hell. The other half of Heaven would go to Earth and continue living out the plan, as previously designed—all except for the Archangels, the seven strongest Angels in Heaven, who would go to Earth once every thousand years to hold off Lucifer's followers. In the seventh and final millennium, the last of the Archangels would face Lucifer himself, and hold off the Apocalypse. With him would be the four Angels he trusted more than even himself, they who are called the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Together, they would protect both Heaven and Earth from damnation."

There was a slight pause in the air as he said this, and I could tell by the way he was looking at each of us that he was waiting for it to hit us. When it did, we all made a sound I could only call a very emphatic 'oh', and I stared straight at the orange-haired man as shock began to come over me.

"You mean…us?" I asked, as both my eyes and the eyes of my friends slowly widened as the full effect of his words reached us. "We're…Archangels?"

Hayate nodded solemnly. "You are the four Archangels chosen to prepare humanity for the Apocalypse, and the Archangel chosen to send Lucifer down to his permanent damnation." Slowly, he looked around at each of us, a confident smile upon his face.

"Shirayumi Hiroto," he said, looking to the blonde first, "formerly Castiel, the Archangel of Conquest."

"Akaiken Katsuo," he continued, turning to the red-head, "formerly Balthazar, the Archangel of Warfare."

"Kokugen Takuma," he shifted his gaze to the indigo-haired youth, "formerly Alastair, the Archangel of Pestilences."

"Awaikama Reigin," he added, turning towards the lanky albino, "formerly Sephiroth, Archangel of Death."

"And Kinikkō Shiki," he finished, resting his gaze on mine, "formerly Nathaniel, Archangel of the Glorious Day. Together, you are the Brotherhood Archangel, the five Archangels chosen to protect the Earth from Lucifer and his fellow Fallen Angels as he attempts to rip the world apart through the Apocalypse."

There was an awkward silence after he had said these words. Then, after a minute, Takuma broke the silence by asking the one question that all of us had been wondering ever since he began his explanation. "Hayate-san…how do you know all of this to begin with?" Hayate sighed and shook his head.

"I was wondering when one of you five were going to finally come out with that question," he muttered with a small chuckle, his face, which had been serious the whole time through, now looking more like he normally did—amused, and slightly buzzed. "Well, do you all remember what that Angel from yesterday was saying about me before you guys came in and killed those buggers?"

"Yeah," Katsuo said, leaping forward, as the lights started to turn on inside his head, "he called you…the Gatekeeper of Fire, right? One of the Gatekeepers of Hell? But," he paused, and the lights finally came on, his eyes widening with understanding, "didn't you say that Devils watch over and protect Hell, Hayate-san?"

"Yes I did," he said, smiling softly and giving the over-excitable red-head a firm nod. My mind reeled, and I shook my head in an attempt to make everything that was in my head now make sense.

"So, hang on," I said, frowning, "you're…a Devil?"

"We both are," Naomi said, suddenly appearing at the table with seven plates of food, "as is Satomi-san, back at your high school."

"You're a Devil too, Naomi?!" Hiroto exclaimed, his eyes wide. "And, and so is Satomi-sensei?!"

"Well, that _would_ explain the insidious aura that she exudes," Reigin said, seeming oddly at ease with everything that was going on. Hayate smirked at Reigin's words and nodded.

"Yeah, she can be a bit frosty every once in a while, but that's to be expected. After all, the three of us have been watching over Earth for nearly six-thousand years now as the Gatekeepers of Hell. We've been really struggling, trying to protect it from every hellish creature and infernal device that Lucifer's Angels have tried throwing at us." Sighing, he shook his head, and started to dig into his omelet. "And what really takes the cake is that, with the seventh millennium drawing near, we're finding that more and more Demons and Fallen Angels are appearing in the Mortal World, and the numbers are too much for just the three of us to handle." Frowning, he turned back to the five of us. "The time of the Brotherhood Archangel is drawing near, and very fast."

"You mean us, right? So," Takuma frowned, "what exactly are we supposed to do, Hayate-san?"

"Fight Demons and Fallen Angels, of course!" he said with a broad grin. "The Awakening Process has already started, thanks to Gabriel lifting the veil from each of you yesterday, and awakening the beings within each of you, who the Archangel Michael bonded within you so that you can learn how to use your powers while in mortal life. The game has begun. All you five need to do is keep up with it."

With that, Hayate grabbed his coffee mug again and took another deep sip of the dark drink. Across from him, though, my mind was reeling, even more than earlier today. Sure, he'd answered some of my questions, but there were some he didn't answer, and the answers he _did_ give were so out there…they were just impossible. Groaning, I stood up, and turned away.

"I'm sorry, Hayate-san…but I can't."

There was a silence in the room as I said this, the room so still, you could hear the last of the grease sizzling on the still-hot frying pans in the kitchen. Hayate frowned over at me, I could feel it in my back. Sighing, he set his coffee mug down again and slowly leaned back in his seat, the chair making a tight, creaking sound as he did so.

"Mind explaining why you can't, Shiki?" he challenged, his voice soft, but I could feel a deadly edge hidden within it. I grimaced, but I turned back to the orange-haired man, the bartender that I saw as a father, and continued.

"Hayate-san…I'm just a teenager! I'm barely making it through school right now, what with all of this math and history stuff that the teachers are throwing my way. I can never make it on time, I'm struggling with managing the band, my band, enough as it is already, and helping take care of my diabetic mom controls the rest of my life anyways. Life always manages to find a way to kick me in the ass, time and time again!" I paused, taking a minute to breath, and continued. "What you're asking of me, it's just too much to add to my already over-flowing plate. I mean, seriously?! Hunting Demons? Fighting Fallen Angels?! I didn't sign up for it!"

"B-but Shiki-san, you did!" Naomi exclaimed, jumping up from her seat at the table. "You went to the Christ himself when he was searching for a replacement for Lucifer, and volunteered to take up the powers of an Archangel during your mortal existence! That was your mission!"

"That was another time, another life, Naomi-san!" I replied with an intense frown. "That was Nathaniel's decision. I'm Kinikkō Shiki, not Nathaniel. I'm not an Archangel, and I'm not going to do this, okay?!"

"B-but—!" Naomi began, but the hand of her father cut her off. Hayate frowned over at the platinum blonde girl, and motioned for her to sit back down. Naomi opened her mouth to protest, but sighed, and sat back in her seat. Frowning, the orange-haired bartender-and-Devil turned his gaze back to me and leaned forward, his elbows on the table, and knuckles under his chin.

"Is that what you really feel, Shiki?" he asked solemnly, giving me a hard, firm stare. I paused, his words surprising me. He didn't sound as vindictive, enraged, that I thought he would be. Sighing, I nodded.

"Yeah, it is. I don't want to spend my life fighting Demons and Fallen Angels. I just want to be myself. I just want to be Shiki."

Hayate frowned as I said this, but the older man shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "I understand, Shiki. It's your life to live, and I can't force you to join the Brotherhood Archangel if you don't want to." Slowly, he turned his gaze over to the others. "I can assume that all of you have similar feelings?"

The others didn't answer, but by the way they were standing, shoulders slumped, heads hung slightly, and pained grimaces on their faces, you could tell easily that they were all against the plan that had been shoved upon them in the spur of the moment. Hayate groaned slightly, and placed his hand atop his coffee mug, clicking his nails against the ceramic.

"Well, if that's how you all feel, then I can't stop you. You have your own freedoms, after all." Sighing, he turned to the front door and nodded. "You can all head out now, then. If this is what you decide, then you can leave for now. But I expect you all back here tomorrow night for another performance, you hear?" he added, with a cockeyed grin.

I nodded back to him with a sad smiled, and stepped towards the door, the others following behind me. "Got it, Hayate-san. Be seeing you around."

Without another word, we slipped out of the room, and away from the bar. All hoping that what had happened the last two days would just disappear, as if it never happened to begin with.

As if hoping could stop the universe from screwing with us.

* * *

Hayate sighed somberly to himself as the last of the boys walked out of the living room, out of the bar-area of _The Fiery Paradise_, and back out onto the street. He should have known that Shiki and the boys would make that decision. After he had thrown a whole new world into their laps, without any warning, what else could they do but deny it? Sighing again, the old bartender rose from his seat and stepped towards his secret stash of whiskey that he kept in the kitchen, pouring himself a tall, amber glass of the liquid.

"Damn you, Gabriel," he muttered bitterly, taking a shot of the fiery draught, "couldn't you have given me more time to ease the boys into it? Bah…" He grumbled on, pouring another shot.

"I can't believe you said that to them!"

Hayate's hand paused, the glass half-way raised towards his lips, and slowly turned back towards the bristling blonde-haired twenty-one year-old behind him, who was giving the most shocking glare, it could have struck fear into a thuggish biker. Hayate, however, who had taught the girl how to glare like that, shrugged and turned back to his glass of whiskey.

"Why's that, Naomi?" he asked casually, relishing the burn of the alcohol down his throat. Naomi glared at her lazy father and snapped her hand out. Instantly a bolt of electricity flicked off of her fingertips and shattered the glass in his hands.

"If you would stop drinking like a washed-up drunk, _Dad_," she shouted angrily, "you might remember that Shiki-san and his friends _need_ to live up to their missions as the Brotherhood Archangels! There're no other Angels in Heaven that can finish the jobs that they have signed up for! You can't just tell them that they are free to do whatever they want! This is their job! They accepted it six-thousand years ago, and now they have to finish it!"

Hayate scowled down at his glassless hand, glass shards sticking out at odd angles, with alcohol running down his arm. "Damn it, Naomi," he muttered, clenching his eyes shut. Slowly, an orange glow covered his arm, from his tattoos, and in a flash, the glass and blood was gone. Sighing, he reached back into the kitchen cupboard and grabbed another glass. "We only have so many of these, you know. You can't shatter them all every time!"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Naomi screamed, her arms snapped to her sides and hands balled into two fists in pure rage. "We need to get those guys back here, now, and explain to them again why they have to—"

"Christiana."

Naomi's complaints fell to silence instantly. Her father only ever called her by her true, Devil name, when he was extremely tired and annoyed—when he had a plan, and she was messing with it. The last time she'd heard him call her that name…had been when he'd let the Hindenburg blow up, against her better wishes.

"Christiana," Hayate began again, "I know that you doubt the logicality of my plan. After all, we just let the five strongest beings in both Heaven and Earth go free to do whatever they want. But, in case you forgot," he growled, scowling down at his daughter, "God's Will has always been fulfilled on Earth, as it was done in Heaven. Whether they follow it now, or much later, they will follow the Father's wishes, and return to the Brotherhood Archangel. They can't run from who they are. They'll be back, sooner or later."

"B-but Dad!" Naomi exclaimed, "They seemed so adamant about _not_ becoming Archangels. How are we going to change their minds?"

"_We_ aren't going to do anything," the old bartender said with a smile. "I have a feeling our enemies are going to do it for us."

Laughing, Hayate picked up his glass of whiskey and slipped past his dumb-struck daughter into the living room. Naomi could hear him listening to an old action movie in the other room, but she couldn't move to join. Fear had clutched her heart. Just what was her father planning now? She suddenly felt very worried about Shiki and the boys.

Sighing the fear away, Naomi picked up her wash cloth, and began work on the hastily-abandoned breakfast.

* * *

I groaned softly as I walked along the sidewalk to my house. It was later out than Hayate and Naomi had been letting on, the sun starting to set off in the distant west. Hiroto and the others had already split up, heading off to their own houses to go rest and relax. I, myself, was worried about how my mom would react to my coming home at so late a time today. That is, I _would_ be worried, if it weren't for the fact that my mind was still buzzing from earlier.

Everything that Hayate had said had thrown my mind for a curve. It didn't make any sense at all…and yet, somewhere inside me, it had all seemed completely logical. It had all just seemed right. And that scared me the most. I mean, it just didn't make any sense to me! Being an Archangel…it was completely impossible, but at the same time seemed completely true, and right. Groaning, I threw my head back and shouted up at the approaching moon.

"GRAAAH!What the hell is happening to me?!"

_**Perhaps now you would like to listen to me.**_

My heart stopped for possibly the third time today. That voice! It was back! And this time, I was certain I was awake. Frowning, I clenched my fists, and kept walking down the sidewalk.

"Shut up, whoever you are!" There was that 'tsk'-ing sound again, from inside my head, and the voice chuckled lowly at me.

_**Word to the wise, want to keep any conversation with me 'internal'. That way, it doesn't seem like you're completely insane, walking down the street while talking to me.**_

_Gee, thanks,_ I thought bitterly, making the voice laugh again. I scowled up at him—it—whatever—and continued down the road. _So, what exactly do you want to tell me, insane voice in my head?_

_**My, you're a sarcastic one, aren't you? Well, you were in Heaven, too, so I'm not that surprised, really.**_ Chuckling, the voice continued. _**So, I believe you know who I am, don't you?**_ I growled back and nodded slowly.

_Yeah, you're the being that the Archangel decided to fuse to my soul so that I could have the powers of an Archangel even though I'm just another simple mortal. Well, listen up, whoever you are! I'm not going to suddenly take up a life of a Demon Hunter, or whatever, just because some stupid Archangel bastard decided to fuse you to my soul! I'm my own person, got it?!_

_**Well**_, the voice said slowly, _**speaking as the 'stupid Archangel bastard' that decided to fuse **_**himself**_** to you, I can tell you that you don't really have much choice in the matter, Shiki.**_

My eyes widened, and I stumbled to a stop on the sidewalk. _You…you're Michael?_ Though I couldn't see it, I could bet the voice, now known as Michael, was nodding his head solemnly.

_**I thought it would be better for you, being the leader of the Brotherhood Archangel, should receive access to your powers directly through the only being in the High Council of Archangels who was stronger than you.**_ The voice paused, sighing. _**Shiki, I know that you don't like the job that you've been given. When I came to Earth as Adam, I didn't even know what I was supposed to do. The Father told me that Eve and I were to populate the world, but we couldn't do that in the Garden. And we couldn't leave the Garden unless we ate the Forbidden Fruit. But we had also been commanded of God to never eat the Forbidden Fruit! It was deciding one commandment over another, and to know the whole of Heaven was waiting to see what I was going to do, that scared the hell out of me.**_

_Whoa, _I muttered, _sounds crazy._

_**It was,**_ Michael replied, nodding, _**but, in the end, I made the right decision. Now, you have to do the same.**_

_But, fighting Demons? Ending the Apocalypse? Can I even do that? _I asked, grimacing.

_**I know it sounds insane, Shiki, it did when Metatron first told us the vision, and the Christ told us his plan. But, one way or another, this mission you've been sent here for will find you. Lucifer's Demon, who possessed a snake to tempt Eve, was the way the decision was finally made for me. Trust me, they'll find a way for you to make a final decision, sooner or later.**_

_What can they do?_ I asked, frowning. This wasn't sounding good. And the way that Michael was pausing, and sighing, definitely wasn't helping the feeling welling up inside me.

_**Just know that if they want something, they will do anything to get it. If they want you gone, they will stop at nothing to do so. They will go after you, your friends…and your family.**_ Michael paused, and a cold chill ran down my back. _**In fact, they've already succeeded in the third.**_

_What?!_ I exclaimed, looking over to my house, which I now found myself standing in front of. Michael fell silent, so I continued on towards the house. My eyes widened as I stepped up towards the front door. Large claw marks surrounded the door, burnt into the wood. I reached to the handled, and instantly jerked my hand back, the metal scorching hot to the touch. Grimacing, I stepped back, and kicked the door open.

The inside of the house was even worse for wear. The couch was torn to shreds, cotton and fluff flying around the room in an early indoor snowstorm. The kitchen table and chairs were busted and broken, with singed claw marks etched into the wood. Mom's potted plants were shattered, the soil spilled along the floor. Books and movies were scattered across the room, some in the walls, with large burns covering the pages.

"What the hell happened here?" I muttered to myself, crouching down to examine a picture of me and my mom that lay shattered on the ground. The sound of something moving inside caught my attention, and quickly snapped me up to my feet. Could it be that the things that did this were still here? Or, could was it—

"Shiki? Is that you?"

My heart soared as my mom slowly stepped out of the door down the hallway. Her dress was torn, there was blood on her shirt and forehead, and her hair was wild and unkempt. Other than that, she looked fine. Gasping with relief, and stepped towards her.

"Mom! Thank God! I was getting worried—"

_**That's not your mom, Shiki!**_ Michael suddenly warned, his voice sharp. I froze, and scowled up at him.

_What? What do you mean? I can see her, it's her, for sure!_

_**It's her body, and her soul's in there, certainly,**_ Michael replied, _**but that is not her talking to you now! Look closely, Shiki, and tell me…is that really your mother?**_

Frowning, I lifted my gaze back to my mom, and stared closely. She looked just like herself. What was there to—suddenly, my eyes caught sight of them. How had I not noticed them before?! Crouching on her back, claws digging into her shoulders, arms, back, head, and legs, were five or six of the monsters from last night.

_**Demons,**_ Michael muttered, and I could hear the scowl in his voice, _**Vile creatures. They can literally tear a person's agency, their freedom to make decisions for themselves, away from them. Your mother must be strong, Shiki, for there to be six needed to control her. But the fact remains that they control her, and are now going after you!**_

_Well, what do I do?!_ I asked, panicked.

_**Simple,**_ Michael replied, _**run!**_

Not pausing to think about what he was saying, I did just that. I turned around as fast as I could and shot back out the front door and down the road. Behind me, the Demons shrieked in rage, and the buzzing of wings suddenly filled the air. I turned around slightly, and saw, much to my horror, all six of them flying after me, while still holding onto my mom tightly. Grimacing, I turned back to the road. What was I going to do?

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep, Dreaming 'bout—_

My eyes widened. My cellphone! I snapped my hand down to my pocket and pulled the phone out, catching the caller right on time. "Hello?" I asked, quickly jumping over a fence as the Demons bore down on me again.

"_Shiki! Is that you, man?!"_

"Hiroto!" I shouted, relief flooding over me. "Thank God you called! Listen, I need some help—"

"_Yeah, well, you ain't the only one, Shiki!_"Katsuo shouted, suddenly cutting in.

"Katsuo?" I asked, frowning. "What, are you guys on speaker? What's going on?"

"_We were heading over to Hiroto's,"_ Takuma replied, speaking up now, "_but when we got there, we found all of our parents and siblings being controlled by those same creatures as the ones that had been attacking Hayate-san last night. When the voices in our heads explained what was going on, we ran out as fast as we could, with them in hot pursuit."_

"_So, Shiki," _Reigin concluded, "_What are we going to do now?"_

"I-I don't know!" I exclaimed, looking back as Demon-Mom swooped down at me. Grimacing, I ducked away, and looked around feverishly. My eyes caught sight of the park that was just across the street from all our neighborhoods. "Okay, guys! We'll regroup at park across the street, and face these Demons, just like we did last night!"

"_Can we do that?"_ Hiroto asked, frowning. "_Shiki, that seemed like it was a onetime thing!"_

"Guys, just trust me with this!" I shouted, ending the connection and rising back to my feet.

_**You do realize, Shiki, that if you accept this power, and use it to save your mother, you will need to use it to save everyone else, too, as an Archangel.**_ I nodded, frowning, and leapt out into the street.

_I understand, Michael. And if that's what it takes, then I'll do it!_

Frowning, I dashed across the road, the sound of demonic wings buzzing behind me loudly. I grimaced back at the Demons, and dodged around them as they tried to attack me again, before sprinting back across the field into the park. The Demons shriek again, louder still, as I ran as fast as I could, and dropped like a rock down towards me. I stared up in shock, my mind racing, and struggled to focus.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a volley of arrows cut through the air, hitting several of the Demons in their backs. A blast of purple mist slammed into them, making them break out in enormous, leprous sores and welts, and a bright green swirl of mist broke through the ground, sending an enormous skeletal arm up, slamming into the Demon-Mom, and sending all six tumbling off of my mom's body. I stared up at her, and began to rush towards her, arms out to catch her, when suddenly, seven silver shields appeared under her, catching her. The shields lowered slowly to the ground, and disappeared into red mist once she was settled on the ground. Shocked, I stepped towards her.

"Shiki!"

Freezing in place, I turned around to see Hiroto and Katsuo running up towards me, the blonde carrying an enormous white bow, with white gauntlets on his arms, and the red-head carrying two enormous battle axes in red armored hands. In another direction, Takuma came running towards me, carrying a large black staff in black gauntlet covered arms, and Reigin followed close behind, with a skeletal scythe in his green gauntlet's hands. Smirking, I waved them over, running towards them.

"Guys! How'd you do that?"

Hiroto smirked and notched another arrow in his bow. "The voices in our heads explained it to us. It's just all instinct. You just focus on what you want to do, and you can do it!"

"Really?" I asked, frowning. "Then…"

In a flash, both of my arms were covered in shining, golden gauntlets, white and silver armor supporting the armors. In my hands, there was a six foot-long sword made of golden light, and the blade glowed with a white energy swirling around it. I couldn't help but smirk at the sudden change, the feeling of power in my body. The smirk left my face, replaced with a scowl, as I turned back to the Demons rising around us.

"Ready, guys?" I asked, frowning. The others gave me a quick nod, and together, we leapt forward.

Katsuo and I lunged forward, racing through the swarm of insectoid creatures. Every creature that tried to pass by us or face us down, Katsuo's axes quickly finished off, or my glowing claymore would slice apart. We bobbed and weaved around the horde, slashing and dashing through the attackers, and tearing them down.

"Over on your left!" Hiroto shouted, firing arrows of light at machine gun rates, the golden shafts of light sinking into the Demons with expert marksman accuracy, and shattering them into dust. "There's my mom and dad! Careful with them!"

"I'll handle that!" Reigin shouted back, spinning his scythe in a circle and slamming the blade end into the ground. Instantly an enormous skeletal arm broke out of the ground, glowing with bright green light. The arm reached up to the figures being controlled by the Demons, and quickly raked its fingers against the host's bodies, tearing them away from the Demons.

"And I'll handle the Demons!" Takuma exclaimed, swinging his staff. A bright purple stream of smoke swirled up towards the Demons, who were shrieking over the loss of their host. In a flash, the creatures were consumed in the smoke, making them melt at their joints and wings. The creatures shrieked to death, falling like flies onto the ground.

"Nice, guys!" I shouted, smirking. Quickly, I spun my claymore around again, slicing the Demons down with a sweeping wave of white light. "If we keep this up, we'll be fine!"

* * *

Hayate sighed behind the bar, cleaning his shot glasses again with a spare rag. He needed something to do to rest his mind. He had just heard the news of the fight from yesterday evening. Just as he had reasoned, they would return to the path they were asked to live. Shiki had been the one to tell him the group's official decision. They were going to be the Brotherhood Archangel, and Hayate had never been gladder.

_BRING!_

Hayate frowned at the sound of his bar's doors opening, and called over his shoulder to the customer walking in. "Sorry, sir, but we're closed right now. Could you come back later?"

"Funny. I was hoping to talk to my old friend, Zacharias."

Hayate froze, and quickly spun around, smirking at the copper-haired man that was strolling into the room. "Gabe!" he exclaimed, smirking as the Archangel gripped his hand in a hearty handshake.

"Zack! So good to see you again! Just coming in to say hello, check up on you, you know, the usual." Hayate nodded with a smirk, and gestured over to a seat at the bar, before turning around and grabbing a bottle of beer and two large glasses.

"Well, be my guest, Gabriel!" the bartender said with a grin, handing him a glass. "Haven't seen you here in a while, my old friend. Must say, I've gotten to miss having you around, coming in every once in a while for a drink. What's the special occasion?"

"The Brotherhood Archangel," Gabriel said with a small frown.

"The actual thing, or the band Shiki's started up?" Hayate toyed, smirking at how simply Shiki had finally named the band.

"The actual Brotherhood, Zack." Frowning, Gabriel leaned back in his seat. "As happy as I am that they finally progressed into accepting their powers, I must warn you that the hard part has only just begun. The Fallen Angels are going to keep a stricter eye on them, now. And it's only a matter of time until the Seven Sins are awakened again, as well as the Anarchists, the Anti-Christ, and the Beast. We don't have much time to get Shiki and the others ready."

"I know, Gabe," Hayate frowned, tipping his glass towards himself, "Elohim knows I know. But I have faith that they will succeed."

"Let's hope so," Gabriel grumbled, raising his glass to his old friend. "Here's to the Brotherhood."

"I'll drink to that," Hayate agreed, clinking his drink against the glass and taking a deep drink.


End file.
